The Western European Union yesterday called for NATO to intervene in Kosovo, saying immediate military action was needed to end the war in the region.
"It is now clear that the use of Mr Lluis Maria de Puig said in a statement headed, "Enough is enough".
"The limits of what the international community can tolerate without intervening have been reached. We are in the midst of a catastrophe with more than 600 dead, over 5,000 taken prisoner, 200,000 refugees and 300 villages destroyed: this is Bosnia all over again," he added.
The WEU has 10 full members and 18 observers and is the only purely European defence body. Constantly overshadowed by NATO, the WEU has struggled to establish a strong identity. Yesterday's statement was the WEU's most outspoken comment on the five-month-old conflict in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo.
"The international community has yet again been deceived by (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic and there is no sign of any intention to arrive at a peaceful settlement," Mr de Puig said.
"The time has come for military action which, while it should consist of the most appropriate, peaceful and effective measures, is now essential to prevent the worst from happening."
A senior NATO diplomat said earlier that NATO had finalised plans for possible air operations to help restore peace to Kosovo.
But the Russian deputy foreign minister, said NATO intervention would not help to bring peace and he appealed to Serbian authorities and Albanian separatists for a truce to foster peace talks.
Mr Nikolai Afanasyevsky, spoke after talks with ethnic Albanian and Serbian leaders and the US special envoy, Mr Chris Hill, during a visit to Kosovo. Russia, as a traditional ally of fellow Slav Orthodox Serbia, vigorously opposes military intervention against Belgrade.
The ethnic Albanian leader, Mr Ibrahim Rugova, told reporters a peace dialogue was impossible as long as Serbian forces kept pounding separatist guerrillas and nearby villages.
He also reiterated a demand for international protectorate status for Kosovo, with a 90 percent Albanian majority, en route to independence. Belgrade has offered to discuss only autonomy within Serbia. The Big Powers say Kosovo must remain in Yugoslavia.
The indiscriminate destruction and targeting of civilians put NATO contingency plans for punitive air strikes against Serbian forces back on the front burner this week.
"We believe there is no military solution here. This includes possible military action from outside," Mr Afanasyevsky said after meeting Mr Rugova at the headquarters of his Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
Mr Hill said that in talks with President Milosevic on Monday he described "in great detail" the depredations of security forces which flew in the face of Belgrade's pledge to make refugee returns a top priority. "I told him this has to stop and that to say you are interested in refugee returns at a time when we see house burnings is simply not a meaningful statement."
Meanwhile, the main diplomat of the ethnic Albanians' self-styled Republic of Kosovo said the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) had agreed in principle to join the administration led by Mr Rugova.
"They have been talking about the make-up of the new government for 10 days," Mr Ilaz Ramajli said. "There should be an announcement within days."