NATO told Serbia today it was prepared to consider changes to the buffer zone on Kosovo's eastern border, which is being used as a safe haven by ethnic Albanian separatist rebels.
Alliance Secretary-General George Robertson said there should be no ultimatum issued to the separatists and no attempt to solve the problem through violence or so-called anti-terrorist operations.
Mr Robertson said NATO strongly welcomed Serbia's plans to pacify the Presevo Valley, although some parts of these posed questions that would need further study.
He called on Belgrade to withdraw the Yugoslav army's Pristina Corps from the region to ease tensions among ethnic Albanian civilians and he urged the Serb authorities to implement other confidence-building measures without delay.
Serbian Deputy Premier Nebojsa Covic, who presented the Serb plan to NATO with Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic, said it would be carried out with moderation, patience and no ultimatums but quickly enough because we do not have time to risk Presevo igniting a wider conflict.