In the words of the German chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, yesterday was a good day for Europe and its peoples. The indications are that the Yugoslav regime has accepted the deal put to it in Belgrade, providing for the withdrawal of its military from Kosovo and the return of refugees supervised by an international force endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. If a withdrawal does indeed begin in coming days, there must be an end to the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia and the beginning of international efforts to reconstruct the region. Introducing the Finnish president, Mr Martti Ahtissari, to a press conference last evening in Cologne, Mr Schroder paid well-deserved tribute to his experience and skill as a diplomat representing the European Union in his dealings with Belgrade. It is as well, therefore, to take seriously Mr Ahtissari's cautionary words about not drawing premature conclusions about a peaceful settlement until Serb compliance is assured and verified. But he explained carefully how he had insisted on a clear and unambiguous negotiation of the terms to be offered with his colleague from the United States, Mr Strobe Talbott, and his Russian negotiating counterpart, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, before they set out for Belgrade.
Their preparation of the deal was the key to its success. By reaching an agreement involving Russia and the European Union as well as the leading NATO power, they put an end to Mr Slobodan Milosevic's attempts to exploit divisions in the alliance ranged against him. The acceptance of a central role for the UN to define the peace settlement, opened up the likelihood of an imposed solution if he did not accept it. The game was up. The arguments will now be transferred, it is to be hoped, from the military to the political and diplomatic terrain. The deal delivers the basic goals set by NATO, the EU, the UN and the Group of Eight industrialised countries, notably a verifiable Serb military withdrawal from Kosovo, a large-scale implementation force, return of the refugees to their homes, autonomy for Kosovo and a commitment to long-term redevelopment. It will be formulated as a UN Security Council resolution, thereby being legitimised by international law. Critics will say these objectives could have been attained without NATO's bombing campaign, which supposedly provoked the dreadful ethnic cleansing and expulsions that uprooted well over one million people from their homes. The case does not stand up.
Despite the deeply regrettable failure to endorse NATO's bombing campaign in an explicit Security Council resolution, it was necessary on political and humanitarian grounds, to prevent such barbarities being committed in Europe. This remains so, despite the evident military and political miscalculations involved and the many casualties among Serbian civilians, all of which deserved the searching criticisms they received. As the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said in defence of the Government's decision not to issue visas for the Yugoslav soccer team, we cannot tolerate campaigns of murder and intimidation in a civilised Europe. The challenge now will be to ensure reconstruction proceeds so as to prevent such methods ever being used again on the continent. Reforming UN procedures to cater much more effectively for humanitarian norms, is an equally pressing task.