Reports from Bonn say that the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, is ready to implement the Kosovo peace deal agreed last week. The American State Department spokesman, James Rubin, said that the Yugoslav leader had been speaking by phone to the European Union peace envoy, Martti Ahtisaari. The authorities in Belgrade have been demanding a United Nations resolution before any foreign troops enter Kosovo.
Talks between NATO and Yugoslav military officials aimed at resolving the Kosovo crisis resumed this morning in Macedonia. They followed the suspension of negotiations between the two sides last night which resulted in NATO ordering an immediate resumption of its air bombardment of Yugoslavia. The negotiating teams have blamed each other for the impasse. Earlier today NATO spokesman Jamie Shea stressed that the talks between NATO and Yugoslav military commanders did not break down but had been suspended. Lieutenant General Sir Michael Jackson said that the Yugoslav delegation had presented a proposal that would not provide a safe return of the refugees and full withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo. He said that their proposal was not consistent with the agreement accepted last Thursday by Belgrade and that there was no alternative now but to continue and intensify the bombardments. The Serb delegation said that they were only seeking to protect Yugoslav territorial integrity and were willing to continue discussions.
The American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has arrived in Germany for meetings on the Kosovo crisis. Mrs Albright will discuss a draft UN resolution on Kosovo with foreign ministers of the group of eight nations comprising seven of the leading industrialised countries and Russia. Mrs Albright will also hold talks with NATO ministers on the negotiations between the Yugoslav military and the Allies. The Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, has accused NATO of considerably raising the level of its demands in the talks. He said that Russia was deeply concerned by the alliance's failure to halt its bombing campaign.
