Yugoslav officers in talks in Macedonia are thought to be objecting to the seven-day deadline imposed on their withdrawal by Nato, and to the insistence that all their forces are moved back 15 miles inside Serbia. The Serbs are also believed to be concerned about attacks by the Kosovo Liberation Army on their flanks as they withdraw. The talks were suspended in the past hour but are to resume later this evening. A Russian envoy arrived earlier at the Kumanovo Air-base in Macedonia.
The second day of high-level talks began this morning. The commander of NATO forces in the region, British General Sir Michael Jackson, and the two Yugoslav deputy chiefs of staff have been meeting at Kumanovo Airport in Macedonia. The Serb news agency, Tanjug says that a military technical agreement will be signed by both sides today.
But the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has warned of tricky negotiations with the Serbs before the deal can be implemented and air strikes stopped. His comments came as sources in Belgrade indicated that the Yugoslav generals at the meeting were seeking more time to withdraw their troops and police. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea emphasised that the talks were not negotiations. He said that the meeting involved making President Milosevic stick to last week's agreement.
German diplomatic sources say that a meeting of G8 foreign ministers will take place in Bonn tomorrow. It is reported that the ministers will adopt a draft resolution on the Kosovo conflict to put before the United Nations Security Council. The meeting was originally planned for today, but was postponed yesterday so that ministers could evaluate the results of this weekend's high level talks in Macedonia.
Heavy ground fighting between Yugoslav forces and Kosovar guerrillas continued and NATO kept up its air attacks today as talks with Serb generals on their pull-out from Kosovo dragged on. Belgrade was spared for a third consecutive night, while NATO bombed targets in Kosovo. Reports say that fourteen bombs were dropped on the villages of Bikuse and Pozlikusa near Prizren in Southern Kosovo. Three bombs also fell on the village of Planeja in the same region. Serbian forces continued shelling Northern Albania, where the Kosovo Liberation Army is active. International monitors say that one person was killed and several others injured in the town of Crooma several miles from the Yugoslav border.
There has been a warning from Washington that Serb civilians in Kosovo might themselves flee, when the NATO-led forces, known as K-4, move in after Yugoslav forces withdraw. Pentagon spokesman, Kenneth Bacon said that it was being assumed many Serbs would leave once the Kosovo refugees were escorted home, although he insisted nobody would be forced out. He went on to insist once more that Serb forces withdraw before air-strikes can be halted.
