Word: kosovar
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Pressing Milosevic to put pen to paper would be easier, of course, if Holbrooke had the Kosovar Albanians' endorsement of the deal in his back pocket. That, once again, will have to wait. With the next round of peace talks scheduled to begin in France in less than a week, U.S. mediator Christopher Hill flew to Kosovo Tuesday for further consultations with leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLA officially assured Hill on Monday that they accept the deal but -- as they did at the Rambouillet talks -- they asked for more time before signing...
That tie to Yugoslavia remains a sticking point. A vehement faction inside Kosovo demands nothing short of independence, and in its eyes the agreement falls short, especially since it doesn't include a Kosovar referendum on independence after the three years are up. During the French talks, the absence of a referendum almost destroyed the chance for a compromise--until Surroi, by force of charisma and will, turned the tide...
...allies would attack: Many Western observers believe that only ground troops could keep the peace in Kosovo -- and that's a non-starter, since the Western alliance has no appetite for wading into an intractable civil war between the Serb authorities and the independence-minded Kosovar Albanians. And with no firm Western action, Holbrooke's cease-fire will likely melt away with the winter snows. Memo to President Clinton: You may want to drop that "Peace in the Balkans" item from your State of the Union list of foreign policy achievements...
...Still, the Serb pullout has -- at least for now -- stopped the terror campaign against Kosovar civilians, and may allow refugees to return to their homes as winter looms. "The Serb withdrawal has to be counted as a victory for Western pressure," says Calabresi. "Even if it's only a temporary...
...fighting in the territory highlight a substantial flaw in the pact: It doesn't include the pro-independence guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army. KLA snipers have killed a handful of Serbian police this week, provoking a return of Serb troops and armor to some parts of Kosovo. "The Kosovar Albanians are deeply frustrated that the U.S. didn't follow through," says TIME U.N. correspondent William Dowell. "They're able to undermine the accord by continuing attacks on Serb targets...