Peace could come to the Balkans within days following Yugoslavia's acceptance yesterday of proposals from the EU and Russia for a settlement of the Kosovo crisis, according to the EU peace envoy, President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland. But NATO has insisted its bombing campaign will continue until Yugoslavia begins a verifiable withdrawal of its forces from Kosovo.
The Yugoslav government agreed to the plan, drawn up by the US, the EU and Russia, which involves the withdrawal of all Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, a halt to NATO's bombing campaign and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force. The force, which will include a substantial NATO contingent, is charged with guaranteeing the safe return of ethnic Albanian refugees.
Speaking in Cologne after his return from Belgrade, Mr Ahtisaari urged NATO to arrange a meeting with Yugoslav military leaders as soon as possible to agree a timetable for the troop withdrawal and bombing pause.
"Get the withdrawal process agreed, get it verified so that we can get to a suspension of military activity - a halt to the bombing," he said. NATO generals are expected in Belgrade, possibly as early as today. Their arrival could mean the end of the bombardment.
Serbs reacted cautiously to their government's capitulation. Many were angry the country had to suffer so much before President Milosevic accepted terms almost identical to those on offer last March.
But Mr Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia had been preserved. "We Yugoslavs only defended freedom and honour," it added. "We were not defeated and we will continue to fight for peace."
Last night, the Kosovo Liberation Army, after apparent initial reluctance, said it accepted the plan.
An unknown number of people died in the war, which began on March 24th following Mr Milosevic's refusal to agree to the Rambouillet peace agreement reached in Paris.
NATO sources claimed yesterday that 5,000 Yugoslav soldiers were killed and more than 10,000 injured. Several hundred civilians also died, many of them in NATO bombing errors.
In Washington, President Clinton was cautious but welcomed developments. He said: "We must have clarity that the Serb leadership has fully accepted these conditions and intends to fully implement them. Until then and until the Serb forces begin a verifiable withdrawal from Kosovo we will continue to pursue diplomacy and also continue the military effort that has brought us to this point."
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, hailed the breakthrough. "Peace is within reach and we will do our utmost not to let it slip away," he said.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, insisted there had been no deal with Mr Milosevic, who is an indicted war criminal, but that Belgrade had simply accepted NATO's demands. "There is no deal. These terms were actually on offer right from the very beginning and there has been no negotiating away the essential demands. These demands have been clear from the outset, that his troops go out of Kosovo, the international force goes in to bring the refugees home."
Irish troops could participate in such a force, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said last night, because it would be underpinned by a UN mandate.
Last night, diplomats were starting work on a UN Security Council resolution to implement the peace plan and the US Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Strobe Talbott, will travel to Helsinki today to meet Mr Ahtisaari for further talks. Mr Ahtisaari said he expected an end to NATO's military activity within a "very short period".