NATO prepares `strong blows' against Serbia in Kosovo crisis

NATO military and international diplomatic pressure on Serbia over the crisis in Kosovo escalated sharply yesterday. Russia's support for Wednesday's UN Security Council resolution, seen as a watershed threat to Belgrade, is a major factor in NATO's move to a more active stance. Meanwhile, the German Defence Minister, Mr Volker Ruhe, declared that the alliance should be ready to strike at Serbia even without a UN Mandate. NATO yesterday ordered preparation of targeting and logistics for possible air strikes, and the US Under-secretary of Defence, Mr Walter Slocombe, warned of "very strong blows" to be aimed at Serbian military targets within weeks.

The signal being sent to Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic, diplomats say, is that after three months of prevarication on the issue there is a new political resolve to break the deadlock before a humanitarian disaster hits Kosovo this winter. Snow has already begun to fall.

Russian backing for the resolution, and Chinese abstention, is seen by UN diplomats as a critical indication that sanction for full military action by the Security Council is now possible. Until now, the Russians adamantly refused to back Kosovo resolutions which specifically referred to so-called "Chapter Seven" actions, which allow military enforcement of UN decisions. But Mr Ruhe told his NATO counterparts the allies should go further and quickly set a deadline for Belgrade. He told reporters the credibility of NATO was at stake.

"We must move quickly to an ultimatum in the next 10 days . . . we must do something for the people on the ground and not just issue one resolution after another.

"If Milosevic failed to comply, the allies must strike, preferably with a United Nations mandate but without it if need be," Mr Ruhe said.

He quoted a bitter NATO Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana, as telling the defence ministers how the Serbs were mocking NATO inaction as Belgrade's forces burned village after village in Kosovo. Mr Solana had quoted one Serb diplomat as joking "a village a day keeps NATO away".

On the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, Contact Group foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the US met for the first time since June.

"The key players in the conflict, especially Milosevic, must not think we are careless or divided on this issue," the French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, told a press conference after the meeting. "The Belgrade authorities must respect all the terms of the (UN) resolution immediately," he said.

In Brussels, EU Justice Ministers echoed the fears of a humanitarian crisis and warned of the need to act promptly on the ground to avert a potential flood of refugees. Ministers from Austria, Germany, Holland, Sweden, the UK and Belgium reported substantial increases in requests for asylum, in Austria's case a tenfold increase to 1,000 a month.

The UN resolution, invoking the mandatory provisions of the UN Charter, demands an immediate ceasefire, negotiations with Kosovan representatives, and co-operation with humanitarian organisations to allow access to refugees.

It warns that, in the event of a failure to comply, the council would consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability.

Speaking in Bonn, the German Foreign Minister, Mr Klaus Kinkel, said that "the resolution does not yet provide the direct legal basis [for military action], but it is very, very close. . . and it will make clear that we are no longer willing to be led a merry dance".