Robin Lustig was joined by key figures from the past few weeks as well as BBC correspondents from the Balkans, Washington and Nato Headquarters.

The three hour special programme culminated with an hour of your comments and questions via email and telephone.

Select the link below to watch ot listen to Talking Point On Air

Read and hear a reflection of your comments during the programme

Read what you said before we went ON AIR

Read what you have said since the programme

Your comments since the programme

I fail to believe that in this day and age the Russian army can march into a country that has just been cleared of aggressors, set-up a military blockade, refuse entry to the rest of allied forces and still claim that it was a "Mistake" ! What is the hidden agenda and why are we not reading this as a renewed act of aggression.
Nick, UK

If there is a World War III in the near future, there is only one country to be blamed for it - USA. When, for God's sake, will they stop meddling in the other countries' business, and instead take care of their children walking around with loaded guns and shooting their classmates?
Hana N, Egypt

When was the last time you saw the aggressor play the role of peacekeeper? It appears that Nato has appointed itself judge, jury and, without a doubt, executioner. Nato holds their heads up high that they are the defenders of democracy yet it seems that in Kosovo democracy was the victim of its protectors. How can we say that we defend democracy when our media is blindly following the propaganda of a non-elected body well at the same time we refuse to deal with Milosevic who is himself elected. We say we defend democracy and human rights, but we really defend our own selfish interests... Though we do seem just, Machiavelli would be proud.
Michael Moreau, Canada

My hope is that the current peace "deal" will give the breathing space needed for old enmities to heal and for a real peace to be formed in the region. My fear is that a Nato occupation will merely exasperate long-standing tensions and move a lasting solution further into the distance.
John, England

Thousands of Serbs are fleeing Kosovo. Wake up Nato! It's time to act wisely. Now that there is no protection for Serb civilians, it is the fundamental responsibility of Nato to protect these civilian population, from all fears from KLA and provide them true security. Nato now should not join hands with KLA or support KLA, which can create terror among the Serb civilians in Kosovo. Nato should show equal interest in providing security for the Serb minority population in Kosovo. Otherwise, Nato looks like a biased agency that only takes care of Albanians! Kosovo belongs to both Albanians and Serbs. If Serbs and Albanians can not co-exist in Kosovo peacefully, all the effort of Nato will become a waste material.
Srinivasu Vallabhapurapu, Japan/India

The conflict between Russians and Nato troops in Kosovo is dangerous. If it is not well handled, it might lead to World War III. As a matter of fact, putting the Nato and Russians troops together in such a complicated region is already a worst decision.
Zhong Yong, Australia (Chinese)

How can the Russian government hope to control their military when they can't pay them? We are in great danger if the Serbs decide that they can and will pay Russian troops to work for them.
Reg Bettles, England

I'm wondering how it was so clear that the "Serb Policeman" was in fact that. A man in civilian clothes is shot. It looks good for Nato if he is called a "Serb Policeman". I'm sitting here with the NY Times looking at two wagon-loads of gypsies, captioned "Serbs leaving Kosovo." Gypsies have been written out of this history. The BBC and all the western news media have been pathetically inaccurate and susceptible to Nato propaganda.
David Latane, USA

Shame on you! What kind of humanitarian spirit is this? The Kosovo peace deal should demand the demilitarisation of the KLA before it is too late. Now the Serb minority in Kosovo is found unprotected in the hands of this army of drug dealers. Thousands of Serb refugees flee their homes, just as they left Kraina. Why is the west so subjective? Why does the west take the side of Albanians? Why all this hate against the Serbs?
SP, France

What happened when the Russians were allowed a zone of control in Germany in 1945? They stayed for 44 years. In addition, should the Russians not be more concerned with sorting out the state of affairs at home before getting involved in international events?
Chris Foy, England

Nato should broadcast to the Yugoslav people a list of candidates that it finds acceptable to lead Yugoslavia. That would at least ensure that the people of the country don't end up voting for someone who will end up as an 'indicted war criminal'. It would also be entirely compatible with the ideas and concept of US-style democracy for 'designated enemies'.
Mike, UK

I don't know how can we compare the Serb to the Nazis, these are incomparable things except for those who haven't read or visited the concentration and killing camps of the nazis in Germany, Poland, Ukraine and other places. As to what happened in Kosovo, thanks to modern technology I have seen everything. As to what is behind Nato's campaign, I think it was just show of force against the Russians, Chinese and other rivals, it has nothing to do with humanity, because there are much older and bloodier conflicts in other parts of Europe and world. As for the Germans, they have partially accomplished what they couldn't dream of in 40's, of course, with the help of others.
Johannes B, Canada

There is all this talk about how Nato should back out of the Kosovan crisis. But if they did and left, there would be an uproar. It's the same as Thatcher and the Falklands. If she had done nothing she would have been labelled for letting them fall into enemy hands but instead she is labelled as a murderer.
Andrew Holway, England

There are numerous points being made on this Talking Point. The people who are now arguing about Nato being involved are usually the same Free-Loaders who complain the West does not do enough whenever there is another massacre or Civil War in the World. I was against Nato becoming involved at first. However, Nato has proven it was right about the Bombing of Serbia. Critics said no War has ever been won by bombing, THIS WAS!!!
Sam Wren, England

Many Serbians will leave Kosova in the following days because many know that they have aided the ethnic cleansing and thus fear justice. However there are many others that are not involved in any way in the genocide that has taken place and Nato has got a lot of work to do to gain their trust. The Albanians on the other hand must be assured that they don't have to and mustn't take justice in their own hands because Nato is now going to carry out that task.
Saimir, UK

The BBC is just another propaganda machine - more subtle than CNN, but it serves the same purpose. We only have to see the inadvertant references to ethnic Albanians "coming out of hiding" greeting troops to realise that they were not expelled en masse after all. There is no doubt that 90% of Albanians who fled Kosovo were fleeing a war zone under Nato's bombs. This fundamental aspect of the war will go unrecorded and unreported, especially by the BBC.
Paul Stocks, USA

The Russians have done it again! The NATO and UN must not allow them to take advantage of the situation. Why are we pacifying them?
Gary Chong, Singapore

Now that the Russians are playing on Nato's side will they help bring to trial Yugoslavia President of the crimes he comitted?
Humberto Hernandez, Lajas, Puerto Rico

Where are the Blue Helmets? Why is it that even reputable organisations like the BBC are blandly referring to the "Nato peacekeeping forces"? Nato is not a peacekeeping force, but the major participant in the war in Kosovo. According to the recently signed agreements, it is the United Nations which is charged with the role of peacekeeping. So far I have not even heard of one Security Council meeting on this matter, and it is my guess that there will not be any.
R Swart, South Africa

During today's program, Nato was unfairly criticized for "doing the right thing." On the contrary, if Nato had remained indecisive, as in the past, the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians (which amounted to a "geopolitical genocide") would have been remorselessly pursued, using all available means of intimidation, savagery, and brutality.
Ronald J. Kallen, MD

I think that when the K-FOR troops pull out that it will be the same as before. The hatred runs centuries deep, we are trying to nation build at the end of a missile.
David Wright, San Diego, California,USA

Partition can never be more than a temporary solution for conflicts based in ethnic and religious divides. In Cyprus, we have had over 25 years of such UN patrolled partition and the animosities continue to bubble on in new generations. Only when national, ethnic and religious interests stop feeding their 5 year old children poisonous propaganda in songs and poems at home and school can there be any hope of peaceful co-existence. Does not the International Community have a responsibility here? Maybe NATO can bomb Serbs and Albanians into telling their children the value of good neighbourliness!
Keith Lawson, Cyprus

What was the proportion of Serbians to Albabians in Kosovo 20 yrs ago?
Rod, Australia

Russia looks very childish in the way it pushed itself into the limelight in Kosovo, Dylan, Australia said. UK was also childish that it wanted to be before the Russians in Pristina. There were trying to airlift to Pristina, but backed off by the assurance of the FM of Russia that Russian troops will wait at the border. Russia is a country which has snatched the victory when the defeat was staring at it. This was proved in their war with Napoleon, World war I ,World War II. Warning : Don't arouse the bear.
Lenin, India

The United Nations security council system needs to be reformed . The major powers need to learn to take responsibility for the whole of humanity, not just their own national interests. Nato and Russia will have to melt their differences so that a global security force can emerge. This melting together is likely to be painful, but it is what the "New world order" is really about.
James Coburn, Norway

We can only pray that leaders in Serbia and amongst the Kosovars will respect the lesson and example of Nelson Mandela. Humanitarian observers must be allowed to give the Serbs the evidence that they have been denied, or validate the claims of Milosevic which no one else in world believes. Do Russians and Serbs have no faith in a free press? Then we must let the criminals be arrested, and fairly and publicly tried to resolve convictions that promise only war. Does Serbia and Kosovar have leaders capable of reminding each side of Mandela's words: we must use our minds, not our blood or face endless rounds of retribution.
Adam Block, San Francisco, USA

I would very much like to express some doubts about the US policy on the Kosovo crisis. I am German (now more and more European) and I feel ashamed that our country has not had its independent position and just carried out everything what the Americans wanted. For me it is absolutely incomprehensible how European governments can agree that Americans fight a war on European soil?
Michael, Germany

I was just watching the evening news where it was showing a small group of Serbia soldiers stopped by Nato forces and demanded/instructed to lay down their weapons or else force would be used to disarm them. They complied with Nato's request. Then in the next piece of video it showed KLA soldiers approaching British/Nato forces and were not asked to lay down their weapons. The news story was pointing out the differences in the way the two forces were being treated. Isn't it one of the conditions that both forces MUST disarm???
Alex Boskov, Australia

Your comments during the programme

Russia looks very childish in the way it pushed itself into the limelight in Kosovo.
Dylan, Australia

I think that this war marked the beginning of a new form of western, or even American imperialism, which will be enforced through military power, in the name of human rights.
Saman Ali

I would like to stress the vital importance of developing some kind of vision for political and economic stability in the Balkan region as a whole, as Misha Glenny stressed in his closing words earlier in the programme. This is clearly a very complex issue, and one that has not even begun to be resolved in the case of Bosnia, for instance. However I think Iraq holds a lesson for the international community: economic sanctions are unlikely to be an effective weapon against a populist dictator such as Milosevic, just as they continue to be ineffective in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. Just as, however, there was little alternative to NATO's bombing campaign, it is difficult to see any alternative to the application of sanctions of some form against a regime led by an indicted war criminal.
Tim Young, Prague

During the second world war the German fascists encouraged the Croats and the Bosnian moslems to slaughter hundreds and thousands of Serbs. The creation of Yugoslavia was by Britain and France and Russia, they drew up the borders.
Constantine Mandaylas, Australia

Russia wants a sector to monitor of its own, can it handle it? Is Russia ready for this economically, rebuilding the lives of so many thousand families?
Chris Koczka, USA

I am utterly amazed that Nato could intervene in the ethnic cleansing escapade conducted by Mr Milosovic in Europe but the same Nato stood idly by while there was ethnic cleansing not so long ago when the world witnessed the terrible slaughter that took place involving the Hutus and the Tutsies. Could one read a bit of "lets protect our 'white brothers & sisters but to hell with the black cannibals" attitude by Nato? We, the worlds population are all children of God, that makes us all brothers and sisters, and as thus we ought to be our brothers' keepers irrespective of our ethnicity.
Lekhraj Merani

Do you think the British contingent would have got to Pristina before the Russians if the Americans had not at first insisted on the British waiting until they were ready?
Richard Royston

I think that Nato should have been a lot firmer and a lot harder when they started dealing with these people, these are the last Nazis in Europe, The Serbian ideal, you heard this woman, who was on before, total blanket denial of what's been going on in Kosovo, and until the Serbs realise that this is Europe and I, as a European passport holder, will not tolerate people who behave like that.
Dave Connolly, Mostar

I get very, very angry hearing the whining of the Serbs when they get a tiny bit of their own medicine. After what their compatriots did to the population of Kosovo, they have no room to complain. I know it won't happen, but until Serbia gets rid of indicted war criminal, Dictator (forget President) Milosevic, there will be no solution. Well Done, NATO!
Mike Rose, Antigua, WI

The plan will work but the main problem, Mr Milosevic, still stays. He is more powerful than ever! NATO has just reinforced his position by killing civilians and all those mishaps in "precision bombings". The people who are not intellectuals and who can not fully understand the background are, unfortunately, a majority. They will stick to Milosevic more than ever. That is the real problem. It is hard to believe that Serbia will ever be a nice place to live.
Boris, Yugoslavia

Although it has been suggested that no funds from Western countries should be provided for reconstruction while Slobodan Milosevic remains in power, there is no such clause in the deal -- which will make it difficult for Western governments to avoid being accused of reneging on the deal if their threat to withhold funds is actually put into effect.
Peter, Netherlands

It is not only Milosevic, but NATO as well that should stand trial at the Court in the Hague. I couldn't believe their hypocrisy when they gave the ultimatum that the US will financially help Yugoslavia only if it makes some "democratic" changes i.e. change its president. But what if the people don't want this?
Sandra, Macedonia

The time to avoid this tragedy in the Balkans would have been 11 years ago when Milosevic started to break up the old Yugoslav political system. In the beginning for him the biggest enemy were pro-democratic Slovenians, then Croatians, than Bosnians, and now the whole world. Now is he trying to find another enemy to keep himself in power? The end is for him is when the situation is normal and peaceful - only in crisis he can survive.
Rok Mejak, Slovenia

They've been told everything that fits in with the Serbian viewpoint, and they've been reacting to that with a certain degree of glee, the idea that somehow the Russians came in at the last moment and took the gloss off Nato's victory as it were, Nato's victorious entry into Kosovo is something that's amused some people and delighted others
BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson

Kosovo is an inseparable part of Serbia. Kosovo has over 1,300 Serbian monasteries, and hardly any Albanian historic sites. Kosovo was taken from the Serbs by force through multiple wars including this one.
Vladan Popovic, Hong Kong

The public in the US and Europe would hardly need much persuading to realise that the KLA is not an ally. There have been allegations of drug trafficking by KLA terrorists, as well as connections between the KLA and Islamic fundamentalists from Afghanistan and Sudan, including Osama bin Laden. If the West sees a need to present the KLA as their enemy, there certainly would be no shortage of evidence. We should fully expect that the KLA would take whatever actions necessary to provoke a direct confrontation between NATO ground forces and the Serbian troops in Kosovo. What are the KLA's options?
Zegarac, UK

Like the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement, I believe this peace deal may work in the short term, but I think it is likely to break down over the KLA disarmament. The people of Kosova declared their independence by a referendum in 1991, and I can't believe they would now accept anything less, nor should they. All peoples have a right to self-determination. NATO should recognise that fact and help develop the KLA as a legitimate military defence as a transition to its departure.
Jeff Armstrong, USA

I can't believe Europeans patting themselves on their backs after having destroyed an independent sovereign nation. Some day mark my words you will have to pay for this. If you think the KLA is any better just wait a few months, these guys wouldn't think twice before stabbing you on the back when their purpose is served.
Raj, USA

Jonathan Eyal, Royal Services Institute: "Credible diplomacy"

Ultimately the air campaign worked precisely because it was backed by a credible diplomacy and the threat of a ground offensive, exactly what all the military commentators argued from the start. The Yugoslav episode may make democracies more ready to confront dictators however, it is premature to conclude that future confrontations can be conducted only from the air and they will carry negligible risks.
Jonathan Eyal, Director of Studies of the Royal United Services Institute in London

The people who will have the main say over affairs are the refugees themselves. If they feel safe they'll return, if they don't it will be an indication of the failure of the peace deal. I see no point in allowing a minor presence of Serb forces in Kosovo. One couldn't expect any Jew wanting to live in "peace and harmony" with the Nazis! The multi-ethnic society is dead.
Fatima, Denmark

This is only just a light at the end of the tunnel , but still it's a step forward to peace and stability, and to bringing back the 1.5 million internal and external refugees. It's also a step towards building the new political, economic and social environment for all the Kosovars
Visar, Norway

How can NATO - which has defeated Serbia - be expected to get the co-operation of a man deemed to be a war criminal. He will never be trusted. The refugees will never trust him but he will not give up what is counted as part of the sovereign state of Serbia.
Mark, Belgium

If the refugees make it back to their homes, they face the effects of these bombs not just in the form of destroyed houses and infrastructure, but a land radiated by depleted uranium. The Serbs now face sanctions similar to those that continue to kill people in Iraq, continuing the poverty that breeds nationalism.
Josh On, UK

The refugees should be told that they are going back to their homeland Yugoslavia, not just to Kosovo, and that Kosovo will always be a part of Yugoslavia. US media openly shows Kosovo Albanians telling that they do not trust the Serbs. Do you think they will remain silent after they go back?
Ram, India

If the objectives of Nato are achieved and refugees are allowed back into Kosovo will they forgive and forget the treatment handed out to them by the local Serb population? I don't think so! To maintain peace, an ethnic cleansing in reverse would have to take place. Effectively partitioning the country. There is no easy solution, this thing will go on for years to come regardless of the outcome of these peace talks.
Jack Coveney, UK

The real victory will be when all of the displaced refugees can return to their homeland. Real democratic tutelage must be given to the Albanian people of Kosovo to enable them to properly govern their country. Democratic institutions must be installed. INDEPENDENCE for Kosova must follow.
l.Colledge, Albania

As shown in Bosnia, Albanian refugees and displaced persons are not likely to go home after what has happened to them, especially with Milosevic still in power and with Serbian authorities manning the border crossing points. Furthermore, the KLA is not likely to give up the fight. Nato forces will find themselves in a very nasty environment.
James Kessinger, USA

What's sickening is that our politicians never, ever learn lessons, even the most recent ones. Serbian pride remained intact after Dayton, as Milosevic will ensure will happen after this 'convenient fudge'.
James Denning, UK

If we had invested the billions spent on the war in directly helping the Albanians imagine what could have been achieved. Our politicians have to start thinking more creatively. Let's have some original thinking instead of more destruction.
Pam Myles, UK

Whether the peace deal works or not, the fact remains that Kosovo will be burnt to the ground by the time the Kosovo people return to their homes.
John, UK

Roksanda Nincic: "Future enormous instability"

In the future, although obviously the west will play a large role in this region, if they find it necessary to put the Serb civilians behind a sanitary cordon until they vote against Milosevic I think this will be a cause of future enormous instability in the region. I think the only possibility of turning Serbia into a normal country with a normal democratic system and normal economic system will be to incorporate Serbia into the European family and brining European standards into Serbia. By isolating it this will forever be a region of instability as we have seen under the past seven or eight years under sanctions, under western threats, under Nato bombing and what have you.
Roksanda Nincic of the independent news magazine Vreme

As much as I hope this peace deal will work, I fear it will not. The ethnic hatred within Yugoslavia is too deeply ingrained. I do not support the stance of Nato, for if hostilities continue we will in effect be backing a terrorist group, the KLA, who have tried to annex a part of Yugoslavia for themselves.
Wendy, England

What you think about innocent victims in Aleksinac; Surdulica; Novi Pazar; in the train on the bridge near Grdelica; in the bus on the bridge near Pristina; near Pec (with cluster bombs); the victims in refugee convoys that have been bombed; the victims in the hospital Dragisa Misovic in Belgrade; and many others cases named "collateral damage". If justice really exists, everyone must be tried in the same place - in the Hague.
Srdjan Djordjevic, Yugoslavia

The peace deal may work if Russian troops in Kosovo can be independent of Nato. Nato was a KLA air-force for 72 days, so it simply cannot be trusted as peace-keepers. It will be taken by civilians in Kosovo as an extension of the KLA
Dmitri, Russia

Ethinic Albanian refugees talk about their experiences

Our houses have been burnt, have been bombed by the heavy artillery. Such scenes I have never seen in our lives, our hearts are already broken. Serbian people told us to leave our houses and we came here, we came without bread, without nothing. If they stayed one day more today they would have died some of them. There are a lot of children, they are a lot older people, I just wanted to say if someone could hear me, if someone could help us.
Ethinic Albanian refugees tell the BBC about their experiences

Your comments before we went ON AIR

There will never be peace in Kosovo, as there will never be real peace in Northern Ireland. When fanaticism is involved, reason and common sense are forgotten. We should leave them to destroy each other, thus reducing the population explosion.
Paul James, UK

I think Nato has achieved its objective but I regret to state here that it has failed in its mission. How Nato got itself both outwitted and outsmarted by the Russians is the mystery of the century! But if Nato is really serious with its new world order of eradicating ethnic cleansing, I feel they should have started their activities 10 years ago in Bosnia, Rwanda, Palestine, Kashmir etc.
Ishmail Kamara

I am in favour of NATO peacekeeping force entering Kosovo as soon as possible, actually I think it is a must in order to restore peace and stability in Kosovo and Balkans. However the fact of Russian troops joining this mission and moreover their will and attempt to have their own separate command sounds very worrying to me, and unacceptable. According to the Milosevic question, I believe it is in the interest of the Serbian people, and all the Ballkans, to see him not only go but facing the court for everything he has done to the people of Kosovo and all the rest of the former Yugoslavia. I believe that if Milosevic was dealt with from the time of the Bosnian war, Kosovo would not have had this destiny.
Rezart Elmazaj, Albania

When Nato started bombing, the putative objective was to stem the persecution of Albanians. This one failed dismally as we saw a dramatic increase in the flow of Albanian refugees. On another front, the very decision to bypass international laws and meddle in a centuries-old affair was an absolute blunder. Serbs and Albanians will never get along with one another. NATO's forces will have to be there forever if the 'cluster-bombed' peace is to hold. The worse prospect would be the beginning of a ground war since the KLA won't be disarmed and the Serbs can now see the men who've been bombing them.
Veli, USA