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March 31, 1999
Web posted at: 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT)

In this story: Policy shift denied Russia not convinced Yugoslav embassy now in U.S. hands RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia entered a second week Wednesday, the Clinton administration was denying it planned a major policy shift that would support independence for Kosovo. Russia, however, said it had "reliable information" that Washington was considering such a change.

U.S. policy has been to oppose independence for Kosovo while pressing for the kind of autonomy the Serb province enjoyed until Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic forcibly abolished it 10 years ago.

Washington has insisted that the NATO bombing campaign was not intended to support the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army in its fight for Kosovo independence.

But in remarks on Tuesday, President Clinton suggested that Milosevic now risks losing international support for his claim to Kosovo, a province Serbs consider a key part of their national identity.

"Today he faces the mounting cost of his continued aggression," Clinton said.

"For a sustained period, we will see that his military will be seriously diminished, key military infrastructure destroyed, the prospect for international support for Serbia's claim to Kosovo increasingly jeopardized."

Policy shift denied

Asked about Clinton's comment, administration officials would not confirm that Clinton's remarks reflected a change in U.S. policy on Kosovar independence:

• White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said if Milosevic persists in what the United States calls "ethnic cleansing," eventually Kosovo "would become so radicalized that that might prove impossible to keep as is. And also, the international community's support for keeping Kosovo as part of Serbia would be eroded."

• State Department spokesman James Rubin said atrocities being carried out by Serb forces against the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo were making it difficult to envision Serbs and ethnic Albanians living together.

• National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said Milosevic "only has himself to blame for de-legitimizing Serbia's control over Kosovo."

  He said the United States still wanted Milosevic to agree to a peace deal reached at Rambouillet, France, earlier this year in which Kosovo would have wide autonomy for a three-year period, and a NATO-led peacekeeping force.

Lockhart says international support for Kosovo's current status within Yugoslavia might wane if Milosevic continues "ethnic cleansing"

• Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the president's National Security Council, said Clinton was making the point that if Milosevic does not back down, he may find the international community no longer willing to accept a Serbia that includes Kosovo -- even Kosovo with autonomy.

  Left unsaid was how the world community could force Milosevic to give up Kosovo, given NATO's unwillingness to fight a land war.

Despite the U.S. denials, Moscow is not convinced. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Wednesday Russia had "reliable information" that the United States was considering a plan to let Kosovo break away from Yugoslavia or to divide up the province.

He told a news conference such a plan would also involve deployment of a land force, and suggested NATO was already preparing for a ground operation.

"Carrying out this plan allows not only for reinforcing KLA detachments, but also for carrying out a ground operation. NATO is currently preparing for such an operation," he said, giving no further details.

Russia, which has traditional ties with its fellow Orthodox Christian Slavs in Serbia, has urged Belgrade to sign a deal allowing autonomy for Kosovo but has said Yugoslavia must remain whole.

Yugoslav embassy now in U.S. hands

In Washington, meantime, State Department and Secret Service agents early Wednesday took over Yugoslav diplomatic facilities in the U.S. capital.

An hour after a midnight deadline that the United States had given Yugoslav diplomats to vacate their embassy and nearby chancery, U.S. officers arrived to clear and secure both buildings.

Several people were seen leaving in night clothes after the federal officers took over.

Yugoslavia announced last Thursday it was breaking diplomatic relations with the United States because of the NATO attack on the country. It also broke ties with Britain, France and Germany because of their participation in "armed aggression."

The United States closed its embassy in Belgrade last weekend and evacuated remaining diplomats prior to NATO airstrikes.

Correspondent Chris Black,The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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