US closes in on Kosovo

Washington, Feb 18: Washington, deploying additional stealth fighters to Europe on Wednesday, moved one step closer to air strikes agains...

Washington, Feb 18: Washington, deploying additional stealth fighters to Europe on Wednesday, moved one step closer to air strikes against Yugoslavia over its refusal to come to a peace agreement with Kosovar Albanians.

US Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered the deployment of additional fighter aircraft to support potential NATO strikes against Yugoslavia, the Pentagon said.

8220;These previously designated forces are deploying to their forward staging bases in Europe8221; to prepare for operations over Yugoslavia, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The additional aircraft include 12 F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters, 10 EA-6B Prowlers, and 29 refueling aircraft. More aircraft 8212; including bombers 8212; remain on standby, the Pentagon said. The announcement came as a Saturday deadline at secrecy-shrouded Kosovo peace talks in Rambouillet, France, drew nearer.

If negotiators for the Belgrade government and ethnic Albanians in the Serbian Province of Kosovo fail to sign a pact by Saturday, Yugoslavia couldface NATO military strikes.

The US officials earlier laid into Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic8217;s refusal to accept foreign peacekeepers in Kosovo, saying he had only a few days to avert NATO Air strikes.

8220;President Milosevic has just a few days to see the light, to see it is in his country8217;s interests as well as in the interests of the people of Kosovo to not only agree to the political settlement but to agree to a peace implementation force,8221; State Department spokesman James Foley said.

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The comments came after Milosevic restated his vehement opposition to having foreign peacekeepers on Yugoslav soil. 8220;Our negative view regarding the presence of foreign troops in Kosovo is not only that of the Yugoslav leadership, it is also that of the citizens of our country and it is the unanimous view of the representatives of the people in the assembly Parliament, whatever their political persuasion,8221; Milosevic said.

Western powers have been prodding the warring sides into agreeing on a peace formulafor the southern Serbian province, where ethnic Albanian rebels have been battling Serb security forces in a drive for independence for the past year.

The two sides, holed up in a chateau in Rambouillet, France to negotiate peace in the province, have been given until Saturday at noon to agree on a settlement.

Though a proposed peace agreement will not give the Kosovar Albanians independence, it does give them a high degree of autonomy and mediators say it appears the ethnic Albanians will agree by the deadline.