YUGOSLAVIA: NEWLY APPOINTED U.S. AMBASSDOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, RICHARD HOLBROOK, ON A BALKAN TOUR

Record ID: 336988

  • Title: YUGOSLAVIA: NEWLY APPOINTED U.S. AMBASSDOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, RICHARD HOLBROOK, ON A BALKAN TOUR
  • Date: 29th August 1999
  • Summary: PRISTINA, YUGOSLAVIA (AUGUST 29, 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, RICHARD HOLBROOKE AND COMMANDER OF THE KFOR PEACEKEEPING FORCE, BRITISH LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR MICHAEL JACKSON ARRIVE AT NEWS BRIEFING 0.08 2. MCU (English) HOLBROOKE SAYING: "An issue of concern, the Russians are an important part of the pro
  • Embargoed: 13th September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PRISTINA, KOSOVO, YUGOSLAVIA
  • City:
  • Country: Yugoslavia
  • Reuters ID: LVAB58EZ0ZQKYISJ9PFK51BQEA6R
  • Story Text: Richard Holbrooke, on a Balkan tour after being
    appointed U.S.ambassador to the United Nations, has urged a
    swift end to a dispute in which Kosovo Albanians have barred
    Russian peacekeepers from their town.

    He has met Hasim Thaci, the civilian leader of the KLA,
    and Ibrahim Rugova, the ethnic Albanian leader, and said that
    The U.S.government is interested in keeping an open mind
    about the growth of new parties in a reconstructed Kosovo.

    Washington's former Balkans troubleshooter, Richard
    Holbrooke, who met the commander of Kosovo's peacekeeping
    force on Sunday (August 29), stressed the importance of
    Russia's role in the international force in Kosovo.

    "The Russians are an important part of the process here.

    We work closely with them here and in the United Nations,"
    said Holbrooke, who brokered the Dayton peace accords that
    ended the 1992-1995 Bosnia war.

    "They were an important part of the process that ended the
    war and they have a legitimate role here," he said.

    Holbrooke, on his first foreign visit since being sworn in
    as U.N.ambassador on Wednesday, was commenting on the
    situation in the southwestern town of Orahovac, where
    Albanians have set up roadblocks to keep out Russian troops.

    "The details of that particular point of tension have to
    be resolved," he said.

    Lieutenant General Mike Jackson, commander of the KFOR
    peacekeepers in Kosovo, said his officers would continue
    efforts to resolve the standoff.

    Jackson added that anti-Russian feeling among ethnic
    Albanians may be based more on rumour than hard facts.

    The Albanians, who distrust Russians as traditional allies
    of the Serbs, say Russian mercenaries fought alongside Serb
    forces who committed atrocities in their area.

    "Yes, passions do run high," Jackson said after meeting
    Holbrooke.

    But he added: "As ever, I fear we may have a situation
    where beliefs are rather more awful than the actual facts."
    He said he suspected Russian involvement with the Serbs
    was less than the Albanians believed, if it had existed at
    all.

    About 3,600 Russians form part of the NATO-led Kosovo
    force, KFOR, which has more than 40,000 troops in Kosovo.

    Holbrooke said he had been struck by the depth of
    animosity towards Russians when speaking to villagers at a
    mass grave site at Cikatovo, west of Pristina, the previous
    day.

    An agreement reached in Helsinki in June between the
    United States and Russia, and accepted by NATO, sets out the
    details of the Russian deployment within KFOR.

    It specifies a region inside Kosovo's German military zone
    around the town of Malisevo, which includes Orahovac, as one
    of the Russians' areas.

    Russian troops tried to begin taking over from Dutch
    troops in Orahovac on Monday but turned back after
    encountering the largest of seven roadblocks set up by local
    Albanians on winding roads around the hillside town.

    KFOR has not said how it plans to overcome the Albanians'
    resistance, although it has stressed the dispute will be
    solved peacefully.Dutch soldiers have suggested allowing some
    of them to remain in the town with the Russians might be one
    solution.

    Holbrooke went on to meet Hasim Thaci, leader of the KLA
    troops.

    Following their meeting, Thaci said, "We truly believe
    that the date of the 19th September will be an important date
    for Kosovo." He did not elaborate.

    Holbrooke said "We see progress and problems.Here it's a
    very difficult situation but at least now we are in a free
    Pristina, free of intimidation and thats the most important
    thing because with NATO to provide security it provides an
    opportunity for the creation of a pluralistic democracy."
    Holbrooke then met ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova.

    Talking to reporters afterwards, Rugova said, "We
    appreciate all the support and aid the United States people
    have given to Kosovo during the tragedy and we hope that
    cooperation will continue."
    Holbrooke replied saying "The war is over but forging a
    viable democracy under peacetime conditions peace is not easy.

    The growth of different political parties here is a useful
    process but it needs to be conducted in a democratic
    atmosphere.That is why we are visiting so many Albanian
    leaders today.That is the message we are hoping to convey so
    I am awfully glad to see you (meaning Rugova) again, and I
    look forward to seeing you again.
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