Vuk Draskovic, the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, the man who until a few weeks ago was deputy foreign minister of Yugoslavia, the fierce nationalist who became the voice of compromise through his frequent television appearances after the war began here, is concentrating on winning a game of chess, but his beloved German Shepherd is distracting him.
It is Saturday night and Vuk, as he is known here, is relaxing at home with his wife, sister and a few friends. On the street outside in this plush residential suburb of Belgrade, two large men stand near the house. It would appear that they are bodyguards, but one is reluctant to ask as Mr Draskovic's precise status in Yugoslavia society at the moment is unclear. He was sacked by President Slobodan Milosevic for advocating a peace position at odds with the government's.
Nonetheless, there are no signs of tension inside. Mrs Draskovic, a tall, elegant woman, pours drinks for her guests. Vuk is upbeat, making jokes, drinking and padding around the cavernous living-room in grey flannel bedroom slippers. Even when the air raid sirens sound at 9:10 p.m., there is only a momentary pause in the conversation, a few sighs all round. And the chat resumes.
"Milosevic is not the architect of a `Greater Serbia'," Mr Draskovic says. "Whenever I mention the word `Serbia' to him, he does not even react . You can see it. He is a Serb, but to him Zambia and Serbia are the same. You say `Yugoslavia' and there is fire in his eyes."
"To understand Milosevic, you must understand that his frame of reference, the way he sees life, is as a communist. He came of age under Tito's communism and it is the communist sensibility which informs his actions, not those of a radical Serbian nationalist. The loss of territory from the former Yugoslavia is what is difficult for Milosevic," Mr Draskovic claims. "He is like a man who has lost his legs but still feels the pain." That Mr Draskovic should now be perceived as the voice of moderation here is an irony to many and a joke to some. A former journalist, he became a novelist in 1982 with the publication of The Knife, which was made into a movie. According to a history of the region called The Serbs by Tim Judah, The Knife caused a sensation because of its graphic description of Bosnian Muslim violence against the Serbs. It was one of the first books to violate the restrictive "brotherhood and unity" theme of Tito's Yugoslavia.
Mr Draskovic became a mythopoetic figure with his beard and long hair and his espousal of a Greater Serbia. He ran against Mr Milosevic and was defeated, but went on to lead opposition demonstrations and secure a position as a spiritual leader. It was a surprise when Mr Draskovic joined Mr Milosevic's coalition government. But it was short-lived.
"CNN is saying I was in the government for three years," Mr Draskovic protests. "I was in the government for three months."
His call for moderation seems to be confined to the politics of the present situation in Kosovo, and the war in general. When it comes to the topic of Serbs, Mr Draskovic is as adamant as ever.
"We have two extremes now. NATO is determined to exist at any price. It is the law of power. Our extremism is pushing the power of law. We have no power to protect the power of law. We must be moderate," he says. Both Serbians and Kosovan Albanians are the victims of this war, although Serbs are "greater victims".
To end the war, he says he would advocate acceptance of the peace proposal from the G7 and Russia.
"My role is to push compromise. There can be a full UN presence and the countries of NATO can participate in that presence, but there must be full respect for the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia".
He believes the future of Kosovo will lie in the establishment of two parallel legal systems, one for Serbs and one for Albanians. That is necessary, he says, because of the Albanians' Muslim traditions.
"It all must be incorporated into the legal system of Serbia . . . but let them have their eight wives, their blood feud laws. Albanians like to act like victims. Better than Greta Garbo, they produce heartbreaking stories. Serbs do not. They will not show their pain."
But what of the alleged atrocities against the Albanians in Kosovo? Is it all a fiction?
He is thoughtful and silent for a few moments.
"Yesterday the Croation ambassador asked me `why do Serbs and Croats hate each other?' I said Serbs and Croats are the same nation divided by the same language. Whenever there are atrocities anywhere, you know it is a civil war. A war among brothers."
It is close to 11 p.m. The discussion turns, as it does at the conclusion of most evenings here, to the best way to get home. Which bridge is the safest, which the most dangerous.
Everyone seems to have someone on the other end of a mobile phone reporting where bombs have struck in the country. This night, however, the night following the bombing of the Chinese embassy, is quiet and peaceful.