[ALBSA-Info] NATO to reduce Kosovo commitment

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

NATO to reduce Kosovo commitment

February 27, 2001 CNN

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO is to start dismantling the buffer zone around Kosovo that was set up in 1999 to keep Serbian forces and peacekeeping troops apart.

Secretary-General George Robertson said NATO was "prepared to implement a phased and conditioned reduction of the Ground Safety Zone."

Robertson made his announcement as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged once again that American troops would not withdraw from the Balkans.

As its part of the bargain, Serbia should move quickly to implement measures to restore confidence among ethnic Albanians in the Presevo Valley region, where separatist guerrillas have exploited the zone to seize territory, Robertson said.

The Yugoslav Army would only go back into this area when there were precautions in place and observers to watch what is going on, he stressed.

CNN's Belgrade Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said: "This announcement is mainly intended as a confidence building measure on NATO's part towards Belgrade. It is a sign that NATO recognises that there is a new democratic leadership in Yugoslavia.

"The implementation of this plan will be left mainly to military leaders, who will make sure that a return of Yugoslav army in the buffer zone does not signify a further escalation of violence in the region."

He added: "NATO is being very careful not taking any sides. On the one hand it is recognising that in Belgrade there is now a democratic leadership and that the Yugoslav army is no longer a threat to its forces deployed in Kosovo.

"It also recognises that the Yugoslav army must participate in some way in the defence of its territory, especially since ethnic Albanian guerrillas have used the buffer zone as a safe heaven and have launched a series of attacks against lightly armed Serb police."
Fresh violence

President George W. Bush said during his election campaign that U.S. forces should be withdrawn from the Balkans as soon as possible.

But Powell said the future of U.S. participation in NATO-led security forces in Bosnia and Kosovo would always be subject to consultation with NATO allies.

"The simple proposition is that we went in together and we'll go out together," said Powell on Tuesday, during his first official visit to NATO headquarters.

Asked about fresh violence on the Kosovo-Macedonian border, Powell said, "The clear message is cease and desist.

"This is not the time to start up new conflicts in Europe. This is not the time to resort to violence."

Powell was in Brussels for informal talks on "transatlantic issues" -- including the U.S. National Missile Defence (NMD) proposals, Europe's rapid reaction corps, NATO enlargement and relations with Russia.

On the subject of the proposed European Rapid Reaction Force, which many in the UK and U.S have seen as a rival to NATO, Robertson said the U.S. would have a veto when it came to operational control.

While Robertson said it was "unhelpful" to talk in terms of anyone having a veto, he said it was simply "a fact of life" that the Euro force would be unable to tackle any sizeable mission alone.

Robertson, a former British defence secretary, added: "There are 19 countries in NATO and 15 countries in the European Union.

"It doesn't matter what the fine print says. The reality of the force is that it will be connected to NATO. If the European force wants to do something it will require NATO assets. That is a fact of life.

"It is unrealistic to imagine that the US is going to give assets without any say over how those assets are used."

But French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine urged the U.S. to discard its suspicions about the EU's military aspirations and see them instead as imperative to the alliance's long-term survival.

"Have confidence in the Europeans," Vedrine said, adding that it was time for a "genuine partnership between Europeans and Americans."

"It's time we all got beyond a situation where, after long being criticised for not doing enough to carry out our responsibilities, the European countries are accused of weakening the alliance because they're making a real effort, or being accused of both things at the same time," he said.

Europe's drive to create a military capability was not a threat to NATO's long-term survival, the French minister added.

"What would put the solidity of the transatlantic link at risk would be if the European Union had not the will to acquire the means of being a responsible partner," he said.