Serbian President Milan Milutinovic has dismissed accusations that Belgrade's delegates were blocking progress at the Kosovo peace talks near Paris. Speaking at a press conference in Rambouillet, where the talks are taking place, Mr Milutinovic said ethnic Albanians were to blame for the impasse. The Serb President confirmed that the Serbs have signed the ten points of agreement put forward by the team of international mediators. He said the Albanian side had not signed because the were not unified in their opinions.
Earlier, the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, accused the Serbian delegation of holding up progress at the talks. Mr Cook, who has been attending the talks at Rombouillet, also strongly criticised the Serbian delegation's negotiating tactics. He was speaking after the sixth day of talks at which the Serbs demanded that the ethnic Albanians sign up to a set of basic principles which recognised existing Yugoslav borders. Mr Cook is co-sponsoring the negotiations alongside his French counterpart, Hubert Vedrine. The international contact group on the former Yugoslavia has given the two sides until tomorrow to make progress.
Meanwhile, it has been reported in Kosovo that two off-duty Serb policemen have been kidnapped by suspected ethnic Albanian rebels. The two were last seen in the town of Kosovo Polje, just outside the provincial capital, Pristina, on Tuesday afternoon. It is reported that the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, the KLA, has denied any involvement.
