Kosovo: Chernomyrdin says Milosevic "ready for peace"...

Russian special envoy to Yugoslavia Viktor Chernomyrdin told Reuters in Moscow on 23 April that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is willing to allow an "international presence" into Kosova. Before returning from Belgrade the previous day, Chernomyrdin outlined his peace plan to ITAR-TASS. That plan foresees the safe return of displaced persons and refugees, the implementation of a humanitarian aid program, the resumption of negotiations on autonomy for Kosova, the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosova and NATO forces from the border of Yugoslavia, an international economic reconstruction program for Yugoslavia, and an international presence in Kosova with the participation of Russian forces under the auspices of the UN. Chernomyrdin said that "what international organizations these will be remains to be discussed." He called his eight-hour long talks with Milosevic "not easy" but claimed he had achieved a "breakthrough." FS
NATO COUNTRIES REMAIN SKEPTICAL...

U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have rejected Milosevic's offer, saying it falls short of NATO demands, Reuters reported on 23 April. Chernomyrdin said in Moscow he will meet NATO leaders in Washington on 24 April. "The Guardian" quotes a French government spokesman as saying that the alliance must stick to its air campaign and not send in ground troops. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said in Rome that "the nature of [the proposed international] force is not clear, whether it would be military or civilian, and that's the point on which there is no agreement." German Deputy Foreign Minister Ludger Volmer told Germany's ARD television on 22 April that "when Milosevic appears to be making a concession in negotiations, it can be ambiguous.... It could be that this is one of the numerous feints that Milosevic has often used in the past." FS

...WHILE ANNAN 'ENCOURAGED'

UN spokesman Fred Eckard said on 22 April in New York that Secretary-General Kofi Annan is "encouraged" by Chernomyrdin's initiative and "eagerly awaits the details of what was agreed." He stressed that he has no details beyond Chernomyrdin's statement but added that Annan will travel to Moscow next week "to explore these ideas further with the Russian authorities." Observers noted that Milosevic proved particularly difficult and duplicitous in negotiations on practical details during the Croatian and Bosnian wars. Meanwhile, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 23 April that Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze offered to act as a mediator between NATO and Moscow, following an earlier request by Russian officials. FS

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