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Around the World

U.S. brings Serbs, Albanians together

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, intervening directly, brought the two sides together yesterday, face-to-face, for the first time. She reported afterward that the Albanians, at least, thought the plan that would give them self-rule but not independence was a "fair deal."

But the Serbs resisted the prospect of a NATO peacekeeping force deployed in the Serbian province in the event of a settlement, and Albright said even the Albanians had not promised to sign the deal by the deadline of next Saturday at noon.

That's when the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia said the talks extension will end.

"I hope very much the Serbs will see it in their interest also to sign on," Albright said after talking jointly to four delegates from each side at the negotiations site, a 14th-Century chateau at Rambouillet, 40 miles southwest of Paris.

If there is no settlement by the deadline, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said at a news conference, "We would, no doubt, undertake an assessment of what is next."

He did not repeat the now-familiar U.S. threat to bomb the Serbs, though Albright told reporters separately that "the threat of NATO airstrikes remains real."

"We will hold both sides accountable if they fail to seize the opportunity," the six ministers said in a joint statement.

They also lamented that "progress has been slower than we had hoped for," Vedrine, co-chairman of the talks with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, told reporters. "Nothing has really been solved."

The frustration of trying to end a conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 lives with a plan that compromises both sides' goals was evident through a difficult day of bargaining,

Before flying off to Mexico to join President Clinton at talks with Mexican leaders, Albright said: "I will not be able to say that the path to an agreement is clear or that success is in sight."

And a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "She walked away with a lot of concern that they may not be able to reach an agreement."

The official said the foreign ministers might consult again, either by telephone or in a meeting, but that the focus of such a meeting would be for NATO to consider military action - despite what the official said was strong opposition from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said there was no discussion of using force at the meeting of the six Contact Group ministers after Albright met separately and together with Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

The Russian ventured that with "political will" the chances of an agreement for Kosovo are real.

Albright and Ivanov met separately with Serbian President Milan Milutinovic. "There is real apprehension in the Yugoslav leadership about the country's borders," Ivanov said, referring to the ardent wish of many Kosovo Albanians that the province ultimately will unite with Albania.

Albright, meanwhile, said she sought to convince the Serbs that peace in Kosovo could lead to the unhappy province's reintegration with Yugoslavia, but Serb sources described her meeting with Milutinovic as "tense and embarrassing."

The three-year plan for Kosovo is designed to end the fighting, compel Serbia to withdraw most of its troops from Kosovo and set up elections to clear the way for the ethnic Albanians, who are 90 percent of the province's 2 million people, to run their own lives.

A NATO peacekeeping force of 25,000 troops, including about 4,000 Americans, would take charge of collecting weapons and storing them while keeping the two sides apart so the election could proceed in a secure environment.

President Clinton's decision to contribute U.S. ground forces drew fire again from members of Congress in the U.S. television news shows.

Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) saw "a real potential for problems." Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Nichols said: "We don't want our military to be a Peace Corps with M-16s."

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he would support American intervention, but "with great reluctance." McCain, a Republican presidential aspirant, said he is troubled that "we were not told the truth" when U.S. troops were sent to Bosnia for a year to help enforce a 1995 settlement in the former Yugoslav republic. They're still there.

Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) who is filing his papers today to become a GOP candidate, said on NBC that "the question is, 'By our getting in, what will we solve?' We don't know that. ...We may end up having to engage in fighting ourselves in that part of the world."

Clinton, Zedillo may sign agreements

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. greeted the president with a bearhug.

The two men are expected to sign one agreement liberalizing air travel and another providing $4 billion in credit for Mexican importers of U.S. products over two years. Mexico has emerged as the No. 2 importer of U.S. goods.

as trade to much of the world has stagnated because of the global economic crisis.

The affectionate welcome came even though the leaders are expected to address such thorny issues as drug policy and immigration during the one-day visit by Clinton.

Pictures of the two presidents were plastered throughout the pretty city known for its crumbling, pastel-colored turn-of-the-century mansions.

The affectionate welcome came even though the leaders are expected to address such thorny issues as drug policy and immigration during the one-day visit by Clinton. While he did not come bearing huge gifts, the two men are expected to sign one agreement liberalizing air travel and another providing $4 billion in credit for Mexican importers of U.S. products over two years. Mexico has emerged as the No. 2 importer of U.S. goods as trade to much of the world has stagnated because of the global economic crisis.

02-15-99