-Caveat Lector-
"Greece and Italy, meanwhile, are lobbying for a pause in the bombing to
give Milosevic a period of calm to frame a reply to NATO's demands..."
Italy has found it necessary <nudge, nudge> to reorganize its
intelligence services under a more NATO-friendly spy czar due to "terrorism"
blamed on "Red Bridgades."
Greece, whose supreme court has charged NATO with "war crimes," can
expect
something similar in the near future ...
When the Godfather sez "jump," the capos better jump, or watch their
backs ...
Even among "allies," this is known as "diplomacy."
Germany, US Muffle NATO Differences
By BARRY SCHWEID
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Muffling differences among the NATO allies on war
strategy, the United States and Germany concentrated today on planning a
peacekeeping force for Kosovo and the eventual return of ethnic Albanian
refugees to the Serbian province.
Publicly, at least, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said nothing at a joint
news conference with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about Germany's
implacable opposition to employing ground troops against the Serbs -- an
option that Albright said is still on the table.
Instead, Fischer, whose government contains strong pacifist elements,
stressed the goal of overcoming the ``aggressive nationalism'' of Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic with a NATO military victory. Otherwise, he
warned, Albanian nationalism could explode in the heavily Muslim
Kosovo-Bosnia-Montenegro triangular region.
``This policy of aggressive nationalism of Mr. Milosevic, rooted in the
1930s, must be stopped,'' Fischer said, with obvious reference to the German
nationalism of the period that precipitated World War II.
Albright said her meeting with Fischer concentrated on the ``unity of the
alliance'' amid demonstrations and other signs in Serbia that the people were
turning against Milosevic.
Albright also acknowledged that efforts to arrange a voluntary boycott of oil
shipments to Yugoslavia had only partially succeeded, although she said
NATO's airstrikes had sharply reduced Milosevic's supply. Albright said she
would talk to officials in Ukraine, where barges reportedly are filled with
oil to cross the Black Sea and sail up the Danube through Buglaria and
Romania.
Germany is making a public point of errant bomb targeting that embarrassed
the allies and touched off a furor with China after its embassy in Belgrade
was hit.
The Swiss ambassador's residence also was hit. Before flying here, Fischer
met with Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss in Bonn and said ``talks are
urgently needed'' on targeting.
The choice of NATO targets must ``more effectively avoid damaging civilian
targets,'' said German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Erdmann.
Germany has backed the air campaign strongly, but adamantly opposes sending
any ground troops. Britain, on the other hand, says ground troops should be
considered in an ``endgame'' strategy to rout weakened Serb forces from
Kosovo.
Albright is also meeting this week with two other foreign ministers --
Yeoryios Papandreou of Greece on Wednesday and Lloyd Axworthy of Canada on
Thursday.
Papandreou on Monday was in Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Minister Tang
Jiaxuan demanded that NATO stop the bombing before the U.N. Security Council
opens discussions on a political solution for Kosovo.
``They were very, very clear on the fact that they would not be able to vote
for a U.N. resolution if the bombing did not stop,'' Papandreou told
reporters shortly before leaving Beijing.
While this raised the prospect of a Chinese veto, Papandreou said China
wanted to play a constructive role in resolving the conflict.
Greece and Italy, meanwhile, are lobbying for a pause in the bombing to give
Milosevic a period of calm to frame a reply to NATO's demands. These include
the withdrawal of all Serb troops and paramilitary forces from Kosovo and the
return of refugees under the protection of NATO and other peacekeepers.
The United States also supports a suspension of airstrikes -- but only if
Yugoslavia accepts all NATO conditions for a settlement, said State
Department spokesman James P. Rubin.
He also reiterated Monday that the attack on the Chinese Embassy was
accidental, and said China would receive results of a formal review of the
bombing.
In Moscow, meanwhile, Russian mediator Viktor S. Chernomyrdin said he had
persuaded Western countries to permit Yugoslavia to leave some troops in
Kosovo as part of a settlement.
``It has taken two or three weeks to convince our counterparts -- the United
States and (other) NATO countries -- that while withdrawing the (Yugoslav)
troops, it's necessary to leave some of them behind,'' Chernomyrdin said
after talks with India's foreign minister, Jaswant Singh.
But the Yugoslav envoy to the United Nations, Vladislav Jovanovic, said in
New York that NATO troops had no moral right to enter his country after the
bombing. He warned that no one could ``guarantee the safety of those people
because of the outrage of the population.''
Albright said last week that some Serb troops could be in Kosovo after a
settlement. On Monday, Rubin said a ``symbolic presence'' of Serbs could
remain on the border and at certain holy sites, but they could not determine
which refugees return to their homes in the province.
Chernomyrdin is due to go to Belgrade on Thursday with Finnish President
Martti Ahtisaari after another round of talks in Moscow with Deputy Secretary
of State Strobe Talbott and Ahtisaari.
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