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No progress reported in Kosovo talks
Meetings between Holbrooke, Milosevic called 'tough'
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| Holbrooke and U.S. Army Gen. Mike Short head to a meeting with Milosevic | |
In this story:
- Cohen: One week left to negotiate deal
- Prodi resignation may complicate situation
- Contact Group issues six demands
- NATO military leader warns Yugoslavs
- Serb opposition: Attacks would strengthen Milosevic
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 3:32 a.m. EDT (0732 GMT)
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke wound up several hours of talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Saturday and said the two would meet again in a last-ditch effort to defuse the crisis in Kosovo.
The marathon meeting followed two rounds of talks Friday with Milosevic, but there were no reports of progress on an agreement.
State Department spokesman James Foley in Washington said Friday Holbrooke described the talks as "intense" and "tough," but Holbrooke did not indicate whether they were going in a positive or negative direction.
A statement from Milosevic's office issued after the first meeting said the Yugoslav leader "expressed belief that the arguments, which confirm the positive evolution of the situation in Kosovo, would prevail over belligerent attempts and that the political process ... would finally prevail."
Cohen: One week left to negotiate deal
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NATO is considering taking military action against the Yugoslav federation unless Milosevic agrees to end a crackdown on separatists in Kosovo, a province in Serbia where about 90 percent of the population is ethnic Albanian.
Serbia is the larger of the two republics that make up the Yugoslav federation.
While traveling in the Middle East Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen warned the Yugoslavs that time for a diplomatic solution is running out.
"This has to be resolved certainly within a week ... Some resolution has to take place, because time is running out as far as the people who are up in the hills," he said, referring to refugees in Kosovo bracing for the onset of winter.
For military action to be taken, NATO must approve an "activation order" which establishes a specific date after which the attack could occur. U.S. President Clinton has already given U.S. authorization for the use of force, but some of the other 15 NATO nations want more time to discuss the issue.
Prodi resignation may complicate situation
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| Holbrooke and Albright confer with Contact Group members from the United States, Britain, Russia, Germany, France and Italy | |
Complicating the situation may be the collapse Friday of the government of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who had been cool to the idea of a NATO attack without specific authorization from the U.N. Security Council.
Italy is the location of NATO and U.S. air bases that could be used in the event of a strike on Serbia. Prodi's resignation, after losing a no-confidence vote, leaves Italy with an unstable political situation even as NATO ponders exercising its military might from Italian soil.
The United States maintains that NATO doesn't need a new resolution from the Security Council to launch strikes. Russia, which opposes military action against the Yugoslavs, has threatened to veto any such resolution.
Contact Group issues six demands
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Holbrooke, who held three rounds of fruitless talks with Milosevic earlier this week, went to Belgrade Friday to deliver six demands from the Contact Group, a six-nation coalition that monitors peace efforts in the Balkan region:
Foreign ministers from the Contact Group -- which consists of the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy -- endorsed Holbrooke's last-ditch mission to press Milosevic to withdraw his troops from Kosovo and start talks with Kosovo Albanians in earnest.
But British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook warned of "grave consequences" if Yugoslavia does not end the "humanitarian crisis" in Kosovo that has claimed hundreds of lives.
NATO military leader warns Yugoslavs
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NATO's top soldier in Europe issued his own warning on Friday. Milosevic risks "the ravages of armed conflict," said Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
"This command is ready ... to deal with the extraordinary circumstances in the neighboring country of Yugoslavia in the province of Kosovo," Clark said in a speech marking the change of command at the allied forces' southern European headquarters in Naples, Italy.
In London, Cook disclosed that NATO plans involved possible "successive coordinated attacks" against Yugoslavia, not just a one-time strike.
Serb opposition: Attacks would strengthen Milosevic
However, some Yugoslav opposition leaders working to oust Milosevic and his nationalist allies believe any air strikes on Serbia would strengthen the Yugoslav leader domestically.
"For a long period in the future, all the political efforts and dreams of pro-European-oriented democratic forces in Serbia would be completely destroyed," said Vuk Draskovic of the Serbian Renewal Movement.
Hundreds of people have been killed and 250,000 have been driven from their homes since Yugoslav troops and Serbian police launched a crackdown in February against the Kosovo Liberation Army, an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group.
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| Ground personnel check a warplane in preparation for possible airstrikes against Serbia | |
Milosevic has defied U.N. orders to withdraw substantial forces from the province, maintaining they are needed to prevent new attacks by KLA "terrorists."
In an apparent bid to undercut that claim, the KLA announced a unilateral cease-fire throughout Kosovo starting Friday. The move will add to the pressure on Milosevic to reciprocate.
U.S. officials contend that 60 percent of the troops sent to Kosovo to crush the independence movement remain in the province, as do all but 1,000 of the 10,000 special police, some of whom are accused of committing atrocities against civilians.
Correspondent Brent Sadler and Reuters contributed to this report.
