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May 21, 1999
Web posted at: 7:01 p.m. EDT (2301 GMT)

In this story: Yugoslavia insists on bombing halt German foreign minister questions targets Moscow talks said 'constructive' RELATED STORIES, SITES

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO highlighted new signs of dissent within Yugoslavia on Friday while downplaying reports of cracks within its own ranks, including a call by a top German official to rethink NATO's target list.

NATO said dissidents in Yugoslavia could push Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept NATO's demands and end the war.

"Milosevic is in the corner, and that's where he's going to be kept by NATO until he throws in the towel," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said.

But bad weather forced the cancellation of most airstrikes Friday, including all attacks against the Yugoslav army in the Serbian province of Kosovo, Air Marshal Sir John Day, Britain's deputy chief of staff, said Friday.

NATO pilots continued to hit support and supply targets in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia, including a surface-to-air missile support facility in Belgrade; fuel stocks at Sombor, Smederevo and the Batajnica airfield, on the outskirts of Belgrade; and ammunition depots at Vrdnik and Sremska Mitrovica.

NATO also struck a Yugoslav prison at Istok, where prisoners from the Kosovo Liberation Army reportedly were being held. A Yugoslav news agency said 19 people were killed in that attack, including a deputy warden.

NATO officials described the Istok strike as a raid against a "security complex," and Maj. Gen. Walter Jertz, NATO's military spokesman, called it "militarily significant." He said no details were immediately available.

Yugoslavia insists on bombing halt

Yugoslavia repeated its hope for a diplomatic settlement to the airstrikes, which began March 24. But a spokesman for Yugoslavia's Foreign Ministry said NATO must end its air raids before talks could begin.

"We are open to a peaceful solution, open to diplomatic negotiations. We are open to playing a constructive role in reaching a political solution on Kosovo," the spokesman, Nebojsa Vujovic, said. But first, he said, "This aggression should halt immediately."

NATO says the bombing will stop only when Yugoslavia withdraws its troops from Kosovo, where NATO accuses them of waging war against ethnic Albanian civilians. NATO also wants Yugoslavia to grant the province autonomy; allow the return of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees; and accept an international peacekeeping force led by NATO countries.

Vujovic said Yugoslav troops are trying to withdraw from Kosovo, but their withdrawal was hampered by the bombing campaign. NATO dismisses the withdrawal as a token move.

Shea, meanwhile, said internal dissent was combining with pressure from NATO governments to push Milosevic's government closer to a settlement.

"He is getting caught up in the middle of a joint process that is forcing him into a corner," Shea said.

As he has in recent days, the alliance's spokesman cited accounts of desertions from Yugoslav army units, demonstrations against the war by soldiers' families and a letter from a citizens' group urging Milosevic to bring the war to an end. He said a nascent anti-war movement represents "healthy shoots of civil society and democratic pluralism" in Yugoslavia.

The damaged home of the Swedish ambassador

German foreign minister questions targets

But Thursday's NATO strikes hit a hospital and damaged the Swedish and Spanish embassy compounds in Belgrade, Yugoslavia's capital, while a Friday raid damaged the home of the Swiss ambassador during a diplomatic reception, leaving guests diving for cover. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said those incidents and others created "a need for urgent talks" about the alliance's target selection.

"It is not only because of the incidents with the Swiss, Swedish, and Spanish embassies. There is an urgent need for discussions," Fischer said.

Fischer's comments reflect some unease within Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's center-left coalition about the air war, Germany's first military action since World War II. And coming a day after Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema suggested the time for a temporary bombing halt may be near, they raised questions about the solidarity of NATO as the war approaches its two-month mark.

Shea said the alliance must always listen to its member nations, but said no country has asked NATO to rethink its targets.

"This alliance is rock-solid, and I haven't heard anything from anybody to suggest the opposite," Shea said.

He said NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana had apologized to the affected countries "for any inconvenience that may have been caused."

From left, Chernomyrdin, Talbott, and Ahtisaari

Moscow talks said 'constructive'

Meanwhile, a top U.S. diplomat said Friday that he would return to Moscow for more talks with Russian mediators and Finland's president after discussions late Thursday.

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott held meetings with Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia's special envoy on the Balkans, and with Finnish President Martii Ahtisaari, the European Union special envoy.

"The talks are sufficiently constructive and serious that we're going to continue them. President Ahtisaari and I have accepted an invitation from Mr. Chernomyrdin to return next week. So we're continuing them," Talbott told CNN.

He offered few specifics on the discussions, which were held over dinner in the Russian capital as Chernomyrdin briefed them on his talks Wednesday in Belgrade with Milosevic.

Talbott told U.S. officials in Washington was "moderately encouraged" because Milosevic had agreed the Group of Eight peace plan should be the foundation for future discussions.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was scheduled to host his own round of discussions Friday with Talbott, Carl Bildt -- the U.N. Special Representative on Kosovo -- and with Greek diplomats.

Correspondent Brent Sadler and Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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