NATO and Yugoslav Military Officials Renew Talks on Withdrawal of Serb Troops from Kosovo

Strategic Insights -

NATO and Yugoslav military officials held high-level discussions in a camouflaged tent in Macedonia on the terms of the withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo, raising hopes for peace after 77 days of air war. The talks came after a collapse of military negotiations over the weekend, but with increased pressure from NATO on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Diplomatic maneuvers are underway in various capitals, including Bonn, Moscow, Beijing, New York, and Washington, as leaders await the outcome of the military talks to set in motion a complex arrangement for peace.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UN draft resolution, approved in Germany, is to be sent to the Macedonian tent and the Security Council in New York, with the Security Council preparing and discussing the document as early as Wednesday.
  • The military agreement requires all 40,000 Yugoslav troops and special police to withdraw to Serbia proper within seven days, with troops and air defense units remaining 25 kilometers from the Kosovo border.
  • Serb troops could leave the province along four routes to the north and northeast, with several hundred Yugoslav troops allowed to return to Kosovo after 90 days to assist in locating land mines, guarding shrines and historical sites, and serving as border guards.
  • NATO peacekeepers would be granted wide authority throughout Kosovo, including inspecting for potential arms or military activity by Serbs or ethnic Albanian guerrillas.
  • The British commander of the 48,000 peacekeepers, Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Jackson, would have the authority to use "necessary force" to protect his troops and ensure that fighting ends in the province.
  • The United States secured a key agreement from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian guerrillas, with a top leader, Hashim Thaci, pledging that his forces would not attack Serb troops withdrawing to Serbia proper and that the guerrillas would disarm and disband.
  • The first U.S. troops entering Kosovo will comprise about 1,900 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 1,700 U.S. Army soldiers now in Albania as part of Task Force Hawk.

Statistics:

  • 855,000 ethnic Albanians have been forced out of Kosovo since the third week in March.
  • As many as 500,000 Kosovar Albanians have been displaced from their homes and are in hiding in the countryside, according to NATO estimates.
  • 40,000 Yugoslav troops and special police must withdraw to Serbia proper within seven days under the terms of the military agreement.
  • 7,000 U.S. troops will be part of the 50,000-member force.

Sources:

  • A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
  • U.S. Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon.
  • Alexander Philon, Greece's ambassador to the United States.
  • President Clinton.
  • U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
  • Pentagon officials.
  • Hashim Thaci, a top KLA leader.
  • Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Jackson, British commander of the 48,000 peacekeepers.
  • Senior Pentagon officials.
  • The United States secured a key agreement from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian guerrillas.