U.N. Aides Doubt That Bosnia Wants Negotiated Peace

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina —  U.N. intelligence experts have cast doubt on the Bosnian government’s interest in negotiating a settlement to the country’s civil war, making progress in this weekend’s Geneva peace talks appear unlikely.

“They (the Bosnians) are convinced that military intervention is inevitable and are gaining confidence in their own capabilities with or without outside military help,” according to the U.N. intelligence analysis.

It added: “The (Bosnian) presidency and their military leaders are not willing to end the conflict under current conditions.”

The gloomy view comes as leaders of Bosnia’s warring factions headed for Geneva for their first face-to-face talks since the conflict began.

U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, visiting besieged Sarajevo on Thursday, urged residents to give peace a chance in the Geneva negotiations.

“There is no way but to talk with your enemy,” he said in a city where more than 2,900 have been killed and 45,000 wounded during nine months of constant sniper and artillery fire from rebel Serbian positions.