Western Unity on Kosovo Crumbles Amid UN Deadlock

Strategic Insights -

Fears of a humanitarian disaster in Kosovo are mounting as top diplomats at the United Nations (UN) struggle to unite on a course of action to stop the carnage in the province. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to release a report this weekend assessing whether Serbia is complying with a UN resolution demanding an end to its offensive in Kosovo, but sources indicate that Annan is unlikely to condemn Serbia outright. The Western leadership, led by US President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has vowed to take military action against Serbia if it fails to cease its attacks on Albanian civilians, but the lack of clear UN backing threatens to derail these efforts.

Key Takeaways:

  • Nato governments may feel they lack legal authority to bomb Serbia without a clear signal from the UN, despite evidence of massacres against civilians, including young children.
  • US President Bill Clinton warned that Nato was prepared for military strikes, stating, "We have to be very, very strong here, we need to stop the violence, get a negotiated settlement and work our way through this."
  • British Prime Minister Tony Blair threatened to force Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic to "stop committing atrocities and barbarism within Kosovo," vowing that the West would only stop the violence if Milosevic received an "unmixed message" of a military penalty.
  • Secretary of State for Defence George Robertson announced that Nato military planning for air strikes on Serbia was "almost complete," calling on Milosevic to "stop the violence, the cold-blooded murders of innocent civilians, return your sinister troops to barracks, let the people return to their homes in safety."
  • Russia's new Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov reiterated Moscow's opposition to force, stating that any Nato action against Belgrade would be an "illegal act of aggression" and may lead to Russia tearing up all existing agreements with Nato.

Statistics:

  • 36 Kosovo Albanian civilians were allegedly massacred in three separate incidents in Kosovo.
  • 4 additional RAF Harrier ground-attack aircraft were announced by Britain to be sent to a Nato base in southern Italy, where they will join the force assembled for potential war in the Balkans.
  • 7 countries have announced plans to send warplanes to join the American forces already on stand-by: Britain, Canada, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal.

Sources:

  • "Diplomatic sources said... UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is writing a report this weekend on whether Serbia is complying with the UN resolution demanding an end to its offensive in the province."
  • "President Clinton said Nato was prepared for military strikes... 'We have to be very, very strong here, we need to stop the violence, get a negotiated settlement and work our way through this.'"
  • "British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the West would force Mr Milosevic to 'stop committing atrocities and barbarism within Kosovo.'"
  • "Russia's new prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov, repeated that Moscow remains strongly opposed to force, while the Russian parliament said Nato action against Belgrade would be 'an illegal act of aggression'."
  • "At a six-nation Contact Group meeting in London, the United States tabled a draft political settlement for Kosovo that would give more autonomy to the ethnic Albanians."