|
|
The talks are making slow progress with Serb and ethnic Albanian delegates instructed not to leave the grounds of Rambouillet Chateau until they reach agreement.
The talks' co-chairmen, UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and French counterpart Hubert Vedrine visited on Tuesday in an attempt to push the sides towards an agreement.
Mr Cook said a lot of work remained to be done but he hoped that the two sides would be ready for face-to-face negotiations within days.
Distractions
![[ image: width=150]](/olmedia/275000/images/_276409_cell150.jpg)
But mediators say phone calls to Serb and Albanian journalists, in which both sides are outlining new proposals and demands, are proving a distraction.
Russian negotiator, Boris Mayorsky, said: "They create extra excitement outside the negotiation quarters and it doesn't help - but these are facts of life.
"We get excited ourselves for five minutes after we read the newspaper, then we go on working."
Mr Hill said: "Frankly with the excessive amount of complaints or comments that are leaking out, people should understand that most of them are contradictory and don't make sense."
![[ image: width=150]](/olmedia/275000/images/_275868_proposal150.gif)
Observers believe that a deal based on the plan proposed by the international Contact Group on Yugoslavia will only be reached in the last few days before the two week deadline for the completion of talks.
If they don't reach agreement the Contact Group says they will face possible Nato military intervention.
'Chateau fatigue'
Mr Hill said he was pleased with the progress that had been made. But he acknowledged neither delegation was happy with what was on offer, and confessed to "chateau fatigue".
He stressed that talks had so far addressed only the framework of a political settlement, with a view to moving on to security details at a later date.
Ethnic Albanian objections to the peace plan include:
Serb objections include:
US warning
US State Department spokesman James Rubin responded that Yugoslavia would be subject to Nato air attacks if it did not accept the peace plan - including the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
The European Union representative at the talks, Wolfgang Petritsch, said that a significant hurdle had already been cleared with the acceptance of the Contact Group's basic framework towards autonomy for the province
"The proposals by the Contact Group are the basis of the negotiations. This has been accepted unanimously ... it helps to push forward an agreement," he said.
Country profiles
Pressure builds on Kosovo talks
(08 Feb 99 | Europe)
Bomb overshadows Kosovo talks
(07 Feb 99 | Europe)
Kosovo talks: The negotiators
(06 Feb 99 | Europe)
Analysis: Dayton revisited?
(05 Feb 99 | Kosovo)
A schedule for peace in Kosovo
(30 Jan 99 | Europe)
Serbian Ministry of Information
Kosovo Information Centre
Nato
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Violence greets Clinton visit
Russian forces pound Grozny
EU fraud: a billion dollar bill
Next steps for peace
Cardinal may face loan-shark charges
Vodafone takeover battle heats up
(From Business)
Trans-Turkish pipeline deal signed
French party seeks new leader
Jube tube debut
Athens riots for Clinton visit
UN envoy discusses Chechnya in Moscow
Solana new Western European Union chief
Moldova's PM-designate withdraws
Chechen government welcomes summit
In pictures: Clinton's violent welcome
Georgia protests over Russian 'attack'
UN chief: No Chechen 'catastrophe'
New arms control treaty for Europe
Mannesmann fights back
(From Business)
EU fraud -- a billion-dollar bill
New moves in Spain's terror scandal
EU allows labelling of British beef
UN seeks more security in Chechnya
Athens riots for Clinton visit
Russia's media war over Chechnya
Homeless suffer as quake toll rises
Analysis: East-West relations must shift