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April 9, 1999
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton accused Yugoslavia's leader Friday of trying to create the "illusion" that NATO's demands for Kosovo are being met. But Clinton vowed not to accept what he called "half measures" from President Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic's government says its crackdown on the independence-minded Kosovo Liberation Army is complete and that "peace has prevailed" in the Serb province where nearly a million ethnic Albanians have been chased from their homes. Yugoslavia is now preventing refugees from leaving Kosovo, having choked off nearly all border escape routes.
NATO won't settle for 'half-measures'"Milosevic still thinks he can manipulate the situation by cynically using innocent people. He hopes we will accept as permanent the result of his ethnic cleansing. We will not," Clinton said. "Not when a quarter of Kosovo's people are living in refugee camps beyond Kosovo's borders." "What we have from Mr. Milosevic is the illusion of partial compliance," the president said. "We and our allies have properly rejected it." "If we settle for half-measures from Mr. Milosevic, we will get nothing more," Clinton said. The 19-nation alliance demands that Milosevic accept terms of a U.S.-brokered peace accord, withdraw his military police and paramilitary forces and allow hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians to return to their homes in Kosovo province, accompanied by a NATO-led security force. Speaking before a trip to Philadelphia, the president said he was pleased that a toll-free number (1-800-USAID-RELIEF) set up by the U.S. government to take Kosovo relief donations had received 15,000 calls. He also said first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday would visit Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, "the main East Coast departure point for humanitarian supplies," to observe and recognize the continuing NATO-led humanitarian relief efforts for Kosovo refugees.
Moscow: 'No orders' on missiles
Earlier Friday, both U.S. and Moscow sources told CNN there is no evidence that Russia has retargeted its nuclear arsenal as part of its anger at NATO for airstrikes on Yugoslavia. The Russian government also officially denied the report. The speaker of the Russian Duma (parliament), Gennady Seleznyov, raised concern when he said President Boris Yeltsin had ordered that Russian strategic missiles be aimed at NATO nations. Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov said he was not aware of any such presidential directive. "As far as the Foreign Ministry is aware, no orders regarding missiles have been issued," he told a Moscow news conference. "Russia will stand by all international commitments, including those regarding arms." In Washington, a spokesman for the National Security Council said the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had relayed word that Russia's strategic missile forces had not received orders to change missile targeting. "We hope and expect President Yeltsin will abide by his prior statements that Russia will not get militarily involved in this situation," said NSC spokesman Mike Hammer. In Moscow, a spokesman for the Russian Strategic Nuclear Services Command also told CNN that such reports were false. Yeltsin has said repeatedly that Russia will not be drawn into the Yugoslav conflict militarily. In remarks on Friday, he made no mention of missiles but warned NATO not to send ground troops into Yugoslavia and "make it their protectorate," saying such a development could prompt a stronger response from Russia.
RELATED STORIES: Pentagon ready to fill request for more attack helicopters RELATED SITES: Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites
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