(5 Jun 1999) English/Nat
The Pentagon says there is no sign three days after Yugoslavia announced it had accepted NATO's demands to end the conflict that Serb forces are withdrawing.
NATO has announced talks are to resume on Sunday - in the meantime - Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says some 2-thousand marines are expected to arrive in Greece on Sunday.
Yugoslavia says it has accepted NATO's demands for a withdrawal, and Yugoslav generals have met NATO commanders on Saturday to discuss details.
Talks with Yugoslav military commanders are to resume on Sunday says NATO. Serb officials said they wanted to confer with superiors in Belgrade.
But spokesman Kenneth Bacon says there's no indication so far that Yugoslav Serb are withdrawing.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Ah, we have no seen no sign of Serb withdrawal yet. As you know there are currently talks going on, I wouldn't say they are talks - the NATO side has presented a plan for withdrawal and some requirements for withdrawal to Serb military officials and those discussions are talking place at a location - Blace - along the border between Kosovo and Serbia and they're continuing."
SUPER CAPTION: Ken Bacon, Pentagon spokesman
In the meantime, Bacon says some 2-thousand marines on ships are expected to arrive in Greece on Sunday.
Eventually, they'll enter Kosovo as part of the NATO peacekeeping force.
In all, that force of 50-thousand will include 7-thousand troops from the United States.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The way the withdrawal plan is set , the troops would flow basically out - the Serb troops would have to flow out in basically two directions, they would move first south to north and at the same time east to west, so there would be this sort of pivoting action out like this and as they move out NATO forces will come in quickly behind them. So to the extent that the U-S sector is over here, U-S troops will be able to move in relatively soon. In other sectors, such as the Italian sector up here, the Italians would get in later because the Serb troops would vacate that portion later."
SUPER CAPTION: Ken Bacon, Pentagon spokesman
Bacon added that he did not think that armed Kosovo Liberation Army forces would be a big problem for NATO troops on the ground inside Kosovo.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well they are not going to flight NATO - that's for sure. They have said they applaud the peace agreement, they applaud NATO's entry into Kosovo and they applaud all efforts to get their people, the Kosovar Albanians home. So I don't see this as a problem. The big challenges that NATO will face are de-mining, setting up an infrastructure, first for their own forces and then helping the Kosovar Albanians get back and helping them to whatever extent they are able to after completing their military task - do the necessary rebuilding of roads, bridges etc so that they Kosovar Albanians can get home."
SUPER CAPTION: Ken Bacon, Pentagon spokesman
It's unclear whether the talks have produced any progress.
A NATO spokesman says the two sides have been going over withdrawal plans and other NATO demands point by point.
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