- the first Yugoslav Army troops withdrawn from Kosmet at the height of the heaviest NATO attack there
- Russia will leave the negotiations on Kosmet if NATO continues bombing, Russian President Yeltsin confirmed to his guest in Moscow, French President Chirac
- the Security Council, for the second time, rejected the request of China to condemn the bombing of its Embassy in Belgrade – official Peking threatened it would block adoption of the resolution on the Kosmet crisis
- the RS Government established the proposal of the budget amounting to KM 636 million on the eve of the Donors’ Conference scheduled for May 20-21 in Brussels
The first group of 250 Yugoslav soldiers left Kosovo this morning. The withdrawal started in accordance with the order of the Supreme Command of the Yugoslav Army for a partial withdrawal of Yugoslav army and police troops from Kosovo and Metohija. However, according to the assessment of NATO representatives, Kosmet was today the target of the heaviest NATO attack since the beginning of the NATO aggression. There followed reports of SRNA correspondents from Pristina, Nis and Belgrade on the consequences of today’s NATO strikes on Yugoslavia.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin confirmed today to French President Jacques Chirac that Russia would leave the negotiations on Kosmet if NATO continued bombing Yugoslavia, stated Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov after the meeting between Yeltsin and Chirac which was held in the Kremlin, Tanjug reported. There followed a more detailed report on this meeting as well as reports on other diplomatic activities regarding the Komet issue.
NATO Secretary General Javier Solana stated that the international community would not accept the division of Kosmet and that the time had come for creating a modern Balkans in a modern Europe, Croatian press carry. As far as the anticipated peace force for Kosmet was concerned, Solana gave a hint that Russia, Ukraine and Romania would be engaged. However, the biggest number would come from the most developed European countries as well as from the USA and Canada.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan assessed in Geneva today that the political changes in Russia could prejudice efforts to find a peaceful solution for Kosmet, Beta reports.
The UN Security Council did not adopt an official document on the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade since NATO members, for the second day, had some objections to the changed proposal of Peking. At the same time, Chinese representatives underlined that China would block adoption of the humanitarian resolution to the Kosovo crisis until the UN Security Council condemned the bombing of the Chinese Embassy. Peking called upon Washington today to stop avoiding responsibility for the incident, Reuters reports.
There followed a more detailed report on anti-war demonstrations held in the German town of Bilefeld. The German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer was hit by red ink in the course of the demonstrations.
There followed a report on some press writings regarding the Kosovo issue.
There followed a report on the reactions of some political FRY officials to the NATO aggression and to the order of the Supreme Command of the Yugoslav Army for a partial withdrawal of police and military troops from Kosmet.
After a three-day hearing, the International Court of Justice in The Hague today continues to consider the request of the Yugoslav Government that the NATO aggression and bombardment of Yugoslavia should stop as soon as possible, Tanjug reported. The judges should decide soon if they whether to make a temporary decision on the halt of NATO bombing. The final decision is expected in the course of next week.
There followed a short report on today’s NATO briefing in Brussels. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea stated that President Milosevic had started to realise the consequences of the air strikes on Yugoslavia and added that most of yesterday’s NATO air strikes were directed against positions of Yugoslav troops in the west of Kosovo. According to Shea, Serbs are very clever as far as the camouflage and hiding of weapons and troops are concerned. Shea also stated that ground troop action, due to the long preparation time, would not be able to stop the ethnic cleansing.
At today’s session of the RS Government in Banja Luka, one of the most discussed issues was the proposal of the RS budget for this year. There followed a more detailed report on it.
The RS President Nikola Poplasen, dismissed by the HR, stated that the NATO aggression against the sovereign Yugoslavia had caused a lot of damage not only to the citizens, who are daily bombed by tons of the most destructive explosive, but also to all the Balkan countries.
The RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik today visited the firm of Cajavec-holding in Banja Luka. There followed a more detailed report on it.
The RS NA Speaker Petar Djokic scheduled a consultative meeting with the heads of the caucuses for tomorrow in Brcko. They will discuss the possibility of holding the seventh session of the Republic Parliament.
A meeting of the Joint Military Commission of the RS and the FBiH was held in Capljina today. There followed a more detailed report on it.
There followed a report on the IO press conference held in Sarajevo.
FBiH related news.
World news.
There followed a report on today’s press conference of the RS Radical Party held in Banja Luka.