71.   France and Britain, the two largest contributors to the UN force, have said they would withdraw their peacekeepers if that takes place.

72.   France threatened to withdraw its peacekeepers from former Yugoslavia after the sniper killings.

73.   He also said that Canada did not for now plan to withdraw its peacekeepers or participate in any military operations to retake Srebrenica or protect the other Moslem enclaves.

74.   He noted that withdrawing the peacekeepers would require thousands of US troops that Clinton has agreed to commit to the rescue operation.

75.   He said Germany was considering providing Tornado fighter planes if a decision is made to withdraw UN peacekeepers from Bosnia.

76.   In Kiev, a spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry said the United Nations should consider withdrawing peacekeepers from particularly dangerous zones.

77.   Instead the meeting concentrated on plans to withdraw peacekeepers, diplomats said.

78.   A UN spokesman said the decision to withdraw the peacekeepers by Thursday morning followed a request from France.

79.   Also Wednesday British Defence Minister Michael Portillo, who arrived back from Bosnia earlier this week, told deputies that withdrawing the peacekeepers could spark a wider conflagration.

80.   Both London and Paris have indicated they will withdraw their peacekeepers if the arms embargo is lifted.