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NATO Scales Back Kosovo Buffer Zone
BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (News Agencies) - NATO foreign ministers decided Tuesday to scale back a buffer zone between U.N.-administered Kosovo and the rest of Serbia, giving Belgrade a freer hand to clamp down on ethnic Albanian separatists in the south.
A NATO ministerial meeting - the first attended by new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell - agreed to a "phased and conditioned" reduction of the demilitarized buffer zone in line with Belgrade's proposals - though precise details still need to be decided.
Tuesday's decision followed months of clashes in the five-kilometer (three-mile) wide zone, set up in June 1999 under a military agreement between NATO and Belgrade, that has threatened to torpedo Balkan peace efforts.
"The NATO foreign ministers expressed their deep concern over the use of the ground safety zone as a safe haven for extremist activities," said a statement by NATO Secretary General George Robertson.
"NATO is therefore prepared to implement a phased and conditioned reduction of the ground safety zone," it said.
Yugoslavia applauded the decision, with Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic describing it as "good news since it is obvious that our initiative for a reduction of the security zone has been accepted."
The current buffer zone, which takes in a predominantly ethnic Albanian area due east of Kosovo, was created after Yugoslav troops withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999 after 11 weeks of NATO air strikes.
The reformist government, which took over in Yugoslavia following the ouster of hardline nationalist president Slobodan Milosevic in October, had repeatedly urged that the zone be reduced or eliminated.
Late Tuesday, Robertson announced that his special envoy for the Presevo Valley, Pieter Feith, would go to the area Wednesday together with Stefan Lehne, representing EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"These two representatives will be going to the region to discuss, talk and facilitate," he said, adding that they would be stopping in Belgrade afterwards.
At a press conference earlier with Powell, Robertson said: "Clearly the Yugoslav army will only go back into the ground safety zone when there are precautions in place and observers to watch what's happening."
A top official in the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Pristina warned that Belgrade would have to tread carefully in dealing with separatists holed up inside the demilitarized zone.
Shawn Sullivan, political advisor to the KFOR commander, said there was a "definite danger" that NATO troops and the Yugoslav army could clash if Serbian forces went after ethnic Albanian gunmen.
Asked if KFOR would retaliate against Serbian forces, he said: "I would think so. I don't think we would accept an 'Oops, we're sorry.'"
Robertson's statement said that NATO ambassadors would be getting "further military advice on the modalities of such an arrangement and the implications for the security situation in Kosovo."
It also said NATO was "studying further measures" to help Macedonia improve security along its mountainous border with Kosovo, following a clash Monday between Macedonian troops and ethnic Albanian gunmen.
"NATO is committed to supporting the stability and security of the former Yugolav republic of Macedonia, including the enhanced security of its borders," Robertson's statement said.
Since November, members of the Liberation Army for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (UCPMB) have occupied around 200 square kilometers (70 square miles) within the buffer zone in southern Serbia.
The heavily armed group has clashed regularly with Serbian security forces, and is seeking independence for the Presevo Valley area and U.N.-administered Kosovo.
While pointing an accusing finger at the UCPMB, Robertson said Belgrade also needs to make an effort to win the confidence of ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia, and he called on Serbs and ethnic Albanians to start direct talks.
Asked at the same press conference if ethnic Albanians had now overtaken Serbs as the primary threat to peace, Powell replied: "It's extremists who are the source of problems in the ground safety zone."
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