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	If Yugoslavia meets NATO demands, the bombing campaign could end in a matter of days, officials said  G-8 PLAN: Key points of the G-8 peace plan include: An end to fighting in Kosovo. A withdrawal of all Yugoslav troops and Serb special police. The safe return of all refugees. The installation of a NATO-led peacekeeping force to protect returning refugees. The creation of an interim administration for the province. The eventual autonomy of Kosovo within Yugoslavia. A formula for the economic redevelopment and stabilization of the province. RELATED VIDEO CNN's Jamie McIntyre looks at what may be ahead for NATO's troops (June 4) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Patricia Kelly reports that the fighting in Kosovo has not stopped (June 04) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Walter Rodgers talks with Belgrade residents about what the peace plan could mean for them (June 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's David Ensor looks at what is expected from the KLA in the peace proposal (June 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K One Kosovo family reacts to the news of a possible peace settlement in Yugoslavia (June 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Kosovo, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY The many faces of refugee relief NATO off target  ALSO: NATO hopes peace deal deflates Milosevic's power Kosovo rebels wary of peace agreement U.S. Marines gearing for possible Kosovo deployment  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: Strike on Yugoslavia

June 4, 1999
Web posted at: 10:02 p.m. EDT (0202 GMT)

In this story: Russia, NATO at odds over Kosovo force NATO ready to enter Kosovo UNHCR: Refugees afraid to return No comment from Milosevic NATO raids continue in Kosovo RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- If Yugoslavia follows through on a promise to pull its police and army troops out of Kosovo, NATO's bombing campaign could come to an end as early as Sunday, officials said Friday.

"If Serbia cooperates, the bombing could be halted by the end of the weekend or very early next week," said Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon. He warned, however, that if the Serbs hesitate in accepting NATO's terms, the airstrikes could continue many more days.

The Yugoslav government announced Thursday it had agreed to a Western-backed Kosovo peace plan, following two days of talks between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Russian and European Union envoys in Belgrade.

NATO and Yugoslav military planners are set to meet on Saturday to arrange details of the Yugoslav withdrawal from the province.

"Even though it took 72 days to get to this point, we -- within 72 hours -- are determined to seize the momentum of peace," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said Friday.

British Lt. Gen. Michael Jackson, the commander of 15,000 allied troops now in Macedonia, will meet officers of the Yugoslav general staff on the Yugoslav-Macedonian border to establish guidelines for the withdrawal of Yugoslav and Serb forces.

The alliance said its commanders will tell their Yugoslav counterparts when to start the troop withdrawal, once details have been worked out. Jackson's troops, based in the Macedonian capital Skopje, are on 24 hours' notice in preparation to move.

A top Yugoslav government official said generals were already talking with NATO and that the troop withdrawal could begin by Sunday.

"NATO can now turn its attention away from winning the conflict in the air to winning the peace on the ground," Shea said.

But he cautioned: "This is not the time for our hopes to run ahead of objective reality." He said that Milosevic "finds it much easier to make a promise than to keep a promise."

Asked if he expected the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army to disarm, as called for in the agreement, Shea said that KLA leaders had indicated they would and that NATO intends to hold them to their agreement.

The peace plan calls for an end to military action and violence in Kosovo; the withdrawal from Kosovo of Yugoslav troops, Serb police and paramilitaries; the presence of an international peacekeeping force; the safe return of all refugees and displaced people; and the establishment of a political framework for Kosovo autonomy based on an agreement reached early this year in Rambouillet, France.

Russia, NATO at odds over Kosovo force

Still, key differences over the deployment of peacekeepers threatened to delay a U.N. Security Council resolution formalizing the Kosovo peace accord.

Russian officials expressed concern over the peacekeeping plan because it calls for NATO nations to form the core of the force. Officials in Moscow insisted that Russian troops will not be placed under NATO command.

Foreign ministers of the G-8 -- Russia and the seven major industrialized democracies -- were expected to draft the U.N. resolution on Sunday. However, a U.S. official said the meeting had been postponed because Russia is not ready to finalize the terms.

The European Union's Balkans envoy, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott met in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Friday to continue working out details of the peacekeeping force. Russian special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin did not attend, but kept in contact by telephone.

Chernomyrdin aide Valentin Sergeyev said military staff headed for Belgrade would include specialists who will deal with details of withdrawing Serb forces from Kosovo and the return of refugees. He said the group will not include high-ranking military officials.

NATO ready to enter Kosovo

British Air Marshal Sir John Day said NATO troops were "poised to enter" Kosovo "to avoid any potential vacuum."

Britain said Friday that it would send another 4,000 soldiers to the Balkans as part of the Yugoslavia peace deal, in addition to more than 15,000 already in Macedonia.

Some of those troops would leave in less than 24 hours, said Junior Foreign Office Minister Tony Lloyd. NATO expects to have as many as 50,000 troops in Kosovo once the Yugoslav army leaves.

A detachment of about 2,200 U.S. Marines were en route to Greece for possible use in Kosovo; the U.S. Army already has about 5,000 soldiers in Albania.

Russian officials said they could contribute as many as 5,000 troops to the peacekeeping force as well.

The peacekeepers will serve under a U.N. mandate and will have to ensure the safe return of more than 1.5 million Kosovars to their homes. About two-thirds of those -- mostly ethnic Albanians who dominated the province before the war - - fled to neighboring countries during the conflict.

"We want them to have the benefit of summer months to help to rebuild their homes and lives," Shea said. "But obviously, we want them not to go back until there is a secure presence, to ensure that the refugee return can be done in an organized way."

UNHCR: Refugees afraid to return

Refugee repatriation remains a monumental concern

At the Geneva headquarters of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, officials were in touch with NATO to coordinate the monumental task of returning Kosovar refugees and those displaced inside the province to their homes.

Spokesman Kris Janowski said the atmosphere at refugee camps was one of anxiety. He said Kosovar Albanians are not "willing to believe Belgrade" after having been evicted from their homeland by Serb police and paramilitary forces.

"The most important element is the withdrawal of forces," Janowski told CNN. "Until then, it's not conceivable the people will go back."

He said UNHCR teams were prepared to go into Kosovo to assess the damage, stabilize the displaced Kosovars and begin organizing the repatriation of refugees, although there is no immediate timetable for their return.

"What we will expect NATO to do is provide a security umbrella for the province so the people feel safe," Janowski said.

No comment from Milosevic

News Highlights: Gallery: The conflict in review News story archive Yugoslavia's Future: What's next for Yugoslavia Map: Who controls what The Peace Settlement: A guide to the peace plan Map: Serb troop withdrawal The Military Campaign: Strike damage assessment Atlas: NATO and the Balkans Background: Timeline: Trouble in the Balkans A who's who of key players Map: Kosovo and its neighbors A history of the KLA

In Belgrade, meanwhile, hopes for peace were tempered by the wail of air raid sirens as NATO's bombardment continued.

Headlines in Yugoslav newspapers Friday trumpeted the peace agreement, although Milosevic has made no public comment on the deal.

The news that he has accepted the peace plan has left Belgrade in a kind of limbo between a war that is not yet over and peace that has not yet begun.

The 10-week war has devastated Yugoslavia, leaving as many as 1 million people unemployed and much of its capital without electricity or running water.

The prospect of an end to the war has left most Belgrade residents "delighted and very hopeful," said former Deputy Premier Vuk Draskovic.

Draskovic, who was fired by Milosevic after he criticized the way Yugoslavia was handling the war, said he believes a withdrawal from Kosovo can begin "within one day, two days, not longer."

NATO raids continue in Kosovo

U.S. and NATO officials remained wary Friday, saying Yugoslavia will have to live up to its promises before NATO stops its airstrikes. But a senior NATO official said NATO could halt its bombing of Yugoslavia as soon as Yugoslav troops begin pulling out of Kosovo.

"A start to the withdrawal should be sufficient," NATO Deputy Secretary-General Klaus Kleiber told German television Friday. "Radar pictures and verification on the ground may be necessary."

Despite continued warnings, the skies over Belgrade remained quiet as NATO focused its raids on the Yugoslav army in Kosovo and military facilities across Serbia, the Yugoslav federation's dominant republic.

Allied aircraft struck 21 artillery pieces, 30 mortar positions, four tanks, 10 armored personnel carriers, eight anti-aircraft artillery pieces and other military vehicles in Kosovo.

Other targets included ammunition storage sites at Novi Pazar, Boljevac and Kursumlija; a petroleum storage site at Sombor; a railway petroleum loading facility at Leskovac; a Serb special police headquarters at Kula Milicija; an airfield at Ponikve; a training area at Cuprija; an AM radio broadcast station at Srbobran; and TV/FM broadcast stations at Pirot and Kapaonik.

Correspondents Jill Dougherty, Walter Rodgers and Matthew Chance and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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