-Caveat Lector- Canada Lodges NATO Plea By BARRY SCHWEID .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Canada is lodging a plea for NATO to choose its bombing targets in Yugoslavia more carefully as the Clinton administration extends its review of U.S. policy in the Kosovo conflict. Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy follows up talks the German and Greek foreign ministers had with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the NATO alliance undergoes an awkward self-evaluation. Canada supports the airstrikes, but with diplomacy in a delicate stage, it wants targets chosen carefully to minimize damage to hospitals and other civilian sites. Axworthy said last weekend that errant bombs were ``a serious mistake'' and could hurt the search for a diplomatic end to the conflict. ``At this time, we have to make doubly certain that the military targets that are chosen are chosen very carefully and that every effort is made to ensure that collateral damage is at the absolute minimum,'' said James Wright, a senior official in the Foreign Affairs Department. Germany also has cautioned against poor targeting and sent Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer here this week to oppose sending combat troops into the conflict. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou met Albright on Wednesday and called again for a bombing pause to encourage Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept NATO's terms for a settlement. The allies must also consider the potential impact on ongoing diplomacy of Milosevic's indictment by an international war crimes tribunal. The formal accusation might stiffen Milosevic's already tough resistance to demands that he withdraw Serb troops from Kosovo and permit the deployment of a peacekeeping force to protect returning refugees. At the same time, the indictment might dramatize the allies' accusations of atrocities against ethnic Albanian civilians. Albright warned Milosevic on Wednesday that any aggression against the government of Montenegro, the smaller of Yugoslavia's two republics, was ``unacceptable.'' In an interview with Montenegro state television, Albright said the air campaign against Yugoslavia would intensify. As for ground troops, she said: ``No option is off the table.'' After meeting with her, Papandreou said a temporary bombing suspension could promote diplomacy and eventual approval of a U.N. Security Council resolution on a settlement. ``Greece, being in the region and feeling the direct effects of what's going in the region, has put great emphasis in working on the diplomatic front and being helpful,'' he said. Resisting, but also complimenting Greece for endorsing NATO's demands, Albright said the bombing would end only after Milosevic accepted those demands and started carrying them out. Alluding to the differences within the alliance, Albright said, ``There are a variety of ideas'' among the diverse 19 NATO member nations. In Moscow, meanwhile, Russian mediator Viktor Chernomyrdin, the principal diplomatic channel to Belgrade, urged an immediate end to NATO airstrikes, now in their third month, and said the escalation of attacks while negotiations were under way was unprecedented. Chernomyrdin met with Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari to explore an approach to Milosevic, who has refused to withdraw Serb troops and paramilitary units from Kosovo and to accept NATO and other peacekeepers to protect refugees returning to their homes after a settlement. ``It is necessary to stop the airstrikes and negotiate, agree and at last come to a result,'' Chernomyrdin said, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. ``At least a temporary pause is needed.'' >From his vacation quarters in Yulee, Fla., meanwhile, President Clinton telephoned Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema of Italy, who also is seeking a bombing pause. They discussed ``various signs that the campaign is biting,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. He told reporters he did not know whether the two discussed a bombing pause. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. 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