KUMANOVO (MACEDONIA), JUNE 6: NATO met Yugoslav authorities today for second day to hand out instructions for the withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo.A high-level delegation of Yugoslav military officials, led by two deputy chiefs of staff of the Yugoslav army, General Svetozar Marjanovic and General Blagoje Kovacevic, were given a detailed roadmap for the retreat.``The content of the document is not negotiable,'' NATO spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Robin Clifford told mediapersons. ``There is discussion on detail, on what it means.''
Lieutenant-general Sir Mike Jackson, commander of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force which will go into Kosovo once Serb forces have withdrawn, was expected to demand that the Yugoslavs sign the six-page plan, effectively a surrender document.
It contains detailed descriptions of the routes and roads they should use to remove every weapon and member of the security forces from Kosovo. Officials said the presence of Marjanovic, who had been expected to at talks yesterday butdid not show up, was a good sign.
``We are optimistic that they will sign today and we'll get on with the mission,'' another spokesman, Major Trey Cate, said. Jackson arrived by Lynx helicopter a few moments after the Yugoslav delegation drove in from across Macedonia's nearby border with Serbia.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.