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US

Kosovo diplomacy produces no breakthroughs

B-52s
B-52 long-range bombers with air-launched cruise missiles are being dispatched to Britain  

But Milosevic reportedly signals he may meet Western demands

October 10, 1998
Web posted at: 8:37 p.m. EDT (0037 GMT)

In this story:

  • NATO head says alliance now united
  • U.S. moves B-52s to Europe
  • Yugoslav civilians brace for strikes
  • Related sites and stories

    BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke conducted a marathon session of shuttle diplomacy Saturday but reached no breakthrough in his attempts to defuse the crisis in Kosovo.

    Holbrooke met with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade, then traveled to Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, to meet with ethnic Albanian political leader Ibrahim Rugova. He then traveled back to Belgrade for another round of talks with Milosevic, which lasted until midnight.

    "We are in a very grim situation, and I think everybody knows how serious it is," Holbrooke said between sessions. "We're not anywhere near the point where anyone can be satisfied."

     
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    However, sources close to Milosevic told The Associated Press that the Yugoslav leader has signaled his willingness to comply with most Western demands -- including ending an eight-month military crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo -- in order to avoid a threatened NATO airstrike.

    Milosevic has ruled out the introduction of an international monitoring force into Kosovo, a province inside Serbia, one of the two republics that make up the Yugoslav federation.

    The United States has been pushing for such a monitoring force, which would include some NATO troops, to insure that the Yugoslavs live up to any commitments they make.

    But Serbian nationalists within Yugoslavia, who consider Kosovo an integral part of their country despite its overwhelming ethnic Albanian majority, view such an international presence as an assault on their sovereignty.

    NATO head says alliance now united

    Refugees
    Ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo are living outdoors  

    On Saturday in Brussels, ambassadors from the 16 NATO countries met to discuss possible military action. Though officials of some NATO members had earlier expressed concern about airstrikes, Secretary-General Javier Solana said that ambassadors had worked out their differences and were now united in their resolve.

    "If Milosevic does not comply, I can tell you that NATO is ready to act," Solana said.

    Holbrooke has presented Milosevic with a list of six demands:

    1. an end to all violence in Kosovo
    2. withdrawal of Serbian security forces and heavy artillery to pre-March levels
    3. free access for relief agencies aiding refugees
    4. full cooperation with an international tribunal investigating allegations of war crimes
    5. repatriation of refugees
    6. negotiations on autonomy for Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority

    U.S. moves B-52s to Europe

    Even as negotiations continued in Yugoslavia to avoid a military confrontation, NATO continued to make preparations for airstrikes. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered six B-52 bombers, a reconnaissance aircraft and 13 tanker planes to deploy to Britain for possible use in any attack.

    Albania, which borders Yugoslavia, agreed to allow NATO to use its air space for military operations. Bulgaria was considering a similar request.

    Russia, a traditional ally of the Serbs, continues to resist the idea of airstrikes. On Saturday, a top Russian general said his country might end an arms embargo imposed against the Yugoslav federation if NATO bombs fall.

    "If the norms of international law are violated, then the ... embargo will also cease to exist for us," said Leonid Ivashov, who heads the department in the Russian defense ministry responsible for international military cooperation.

    However, Ivashov does not act as an official spokesman for the Russian military or government, and it was unclear if his views reflected the official position in Moscow.

    Yugoslav civilians brace for strikes

    Inside Yugoslavia, the civilian population was being prepared for possible airstrikes. Air raid shelters dating from World War II -- many of which now house underground businesses -- were being made ready to house people on six hours notice.

    Yugoslav media and nationalist Serb leaders whipped up anti- Western sentiment.

    Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj said the demands being made on Serbs were "really aimed at taking the territory (of Kosovo) from Serbia."

    While he said the government was trying to avert a military threat, he said it would not do so "at that cost of sacrificing Serbia or part of Serbian territory."


    Correspondents Brent Sadler and Richard Blystone and Reuters contributed to this report.

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