Copyright 1991 Newspaper Publishing PLC

September 18, 1991, Wednesday

SECTION: FOREIGN NEWS PAGE; Page 9
LENGTH: 363 words
HEADLINE: Budapest calls for sanctions against Belgrade
BYLINE: From ADAM LEBOR in Budapest
BODY:
Hostility between Hungary and Yugoslavia increased yesterday as Serbian forces took what appeared to be military action against Hungarian interests, and Jozsef Antall, the Hungarian Prime Minister, called for economic sanctions against Serbia.
Armed Serbian militiamen occupied pumping stations of the Adria oil pipeline, which supplies one third of Hungary's oil, sealing off more than 100 miles, the Hungarian press reported. The pipeline has been cut off from the Croatian port of Omisalj to Sisak, the scene of heavy fighting, triggering a significant escalation of tension between the two countries.
In a telephone conversation with Claudio Martelli, the Italian deputy Prime Minister, Mr Antall said ''if the fighting doesn't stop and the cease-fire comes into effect, we expect the G7 nations and the European Community to take a decisive stand'', the press reported. ''With economic sanctions we can isolate Serbian nationalists and Communists who have continued to violate the cease-fire,'' Mr Antall said.
His call is a radical departure from the previously cautious line taken by Budapest, which has seemed content to be carried in the slipstream of EC decisions.
Four planes entered Hungarian air space and two fired rockets back into Croatia earlier this week, according to the Defence Ministry spokesman, Colonel Gyorgy Keleti. Hungary has put border security on a high state of alert and the Defence Ministry has stepped up reconnaissance flights with fighter planes and helicopters. The Foreign Ministry in Budapest denied reports from Croatian radio stations in Zagreb that Hungary had shot down a federal plane. The Yugoslav news agency, Tanjug, said that a Yugoslav air force plane had been shot down but it was not known if the missile had been fired from Croatia or Hungary. Colonel Keleti said: ''These are serious violations of international law and Hungary will do everything at its disposal to prevent further violations.''
Forty-seven Yugoslav army soldiers deserted across the frontier into Hungary yesterday, Reuter reports. The Hungarian border guard said Yugoslav air force planes violated Hungarian air space three times yesterday.