KOSOVO: PRISTINA BOMB BLAST DAMAGE

(1 Feb 1999) English/Nat

With NATO's chief warning this is the last chance for peace, U.S. and European envoys met Monday with a rebel representative, but apparently failed to win a clear commitment to attend peace talks in France this week.

Adem Demaci left the meeting without issuing a full statement, stating a KLA announcement would be made on Tuesday.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that Demaci had not rejected the invitation.

The meeting came as violence again erupted in Kosovo on Sunday, despite international demands to halt the fighting.

A small bomb was thrown into an Albanian-run cafe, killing one person and injuring three.

It was the third bombing in as many days in Pristina, Kosovo's capital.

In Pristina both an Albanian and a Serb-run cafe were bombed on Sunday as fighting between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serbian security forces in Kosovo continued.

The fighting has so far left at least two-thousand people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

The United States and five major European powers have demanded that both sides attend a conference this week in France to end the 11 months of violence and establish self-rule for the Serbian province of Kosovo where ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of the population.

NATO has authorized Secretary-General Javier Solana to launch military action in Yugoslavia if the diplomatic initiative fails to produce negotiations in a week and a settlement two weeks after that.

The man seen by British and American officials trying to solve the crisis as the key man to help negotiate a peace settlement, was optimistic about peace despite the bombings.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I think we're at a stage now where people have identified a very clear interest for peace that will be implemented through international presence and that is a very important factor.
Q: So the minds have calmed on that, they do want that at this speed?
A: I think people want peace, people want an interim accord and people want an international presence that will guarantee that."
SUPER CAPTION: Veton Surroi, Kosovan newspaper publisher

Previously divided ethnic Albanians are uniting behind Surroi who they hope can strike a deal with NATO backing for self-rule in Kosovo.

Neither Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic nor the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army has announced whether they will accept international demands for a peace conference.

Both sides told British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Saturday they would reply within a few days.

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