ACCESSION NUMBER:00000 FILE ID:95062103.POL DATE:06/21/95 TITLE:ADD STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21 TEXT: (Bosnia) (400) NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Nicholas Burns discussed the following issue: U.S. CONSULTING WITH ALLIES ON RAPID REACTION FORCE The United States has been holding intensive discussions with Britain, France and the Netherlands -- the major troop-contributing countries to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) -- about the specific role they believe will be played by the Rapid Reaction Force being formed in Bosnia, Burns said. Those countries will provide "the backbone" of the Rapid Reaction Force, the spokesman pointed out. "We support the creation of this force," he declared. "We believe that it will help in the quest to maintain UNPROFOR in the region and to strengthen it." "We do have an interest in sorting out with our allies what the exact mission of the Rapid Reaction Force would be," Burns told questioners. "We're seeking a clarification from those countries on that specific question." The administration is involved in "quite intensive" discussions with various members of Congress about ways to fund the 12,500-member force and hopes "to work it out very shortly," Burns said. Last week, the United States told the U.N. Security Council that it would not agree to pay for the Rapid Reaction Force through the normal financial mechanism for U.N. peacekeeping. President Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher "have made very clear our full support for the Rapid Reaction Force and our full support for the activities of our allies who are the major troop contributors to UNPROFOR," the spokesman said. "We're the major contributor of money to support UNPROFOR. We have supported the largest airlift in history of humanitarian goods over the last couple of years. We have been involved. We have a voice and we are supporting those who have troops on the ground," he said. Troops that will be included in the Rapid Reaction Force began to arrive in Bosnia about two and a half weeks ago. "We have pledged to support it with communications and logistics, intelligence and lift capabilities," Burns said. Explaining U.S. policy in support of the Rapid Reaction Force, he said, "We believe it's in our strategic interest to keep UNPROFOR in the region and to strengthen it. We believe that the presence of the force in bolstering the current U.N. mission will in fact strengthen that U.N. mission." NNNN