Title: Message
Text: U.S. Unblocks Large Portion
of Yugoslav Assets Frozen in 1990s
(December 27 State Department
statement) (280)
The United States announced December 27 that it has
taken steps to unblock
a "substantial portion" of assets of the former
Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia frozen in response to the wars of
the 1990s in the former
Yugoslavia.
"By unblocking these assets, the
United States hopes to aid in improving
the regional economic environment and
fostering increased trade and
investment in Southeastern Europe," State
Department Deputy Spokesman
Philip T. Reeker said.
Following is his
statement:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the
Spokesman
December 27, 2002
Statement by Philip T. Reeker, Deputy
Spokesman
UNBLOCKING OF YUGOSLAV ASSETS
The United States today
has moved significantly closer to normalizing
economic relations with all of
the successor states of the former
Yugoslavia by taking steps toward
unblocking a substantial portion of the
blocked assets of the former
Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia). This action follows
Secretary Colin L. Powell's statement May
21 in which he indicated that the
United States would be taking actions
through the Treasury Department to
begin the process of unblocking
Yugoslav assets. These assets were blocked
during the 1990's under a
series of economic sanctions imposed by the United
States in response to
the Milosevic-era wars in the former
Yugoslavia.
The United States firmly believes that economic growth and
foreign
investment are critical to the economic recovery and political
stability
of each state in Southeastern Europe and the region as a whole.
By
unblocking these assets, the United States hopes to aid in improving
the
regional economic environment and fostering increased trade and
investment
in Southeastern Europe.
(end text)
(Distributed by
the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State.
Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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