TRANSCRIPT OF BACKGROUNDER
GIVEN BY JAMIE SHEA
IN BRUSSELS ON FRIDAY, 7 MAY 1999

JAMIE SHEA:
First of all, I hope that all of you who were here earlier received the
first of what I expect and hope to be our quick written morning operational
summaries. Many of you have pointed out to me that you need to have some
basic information early on for your breakfast briefings and I hope that
this piece of paper, albeit it brief, was nonetheless helpful to you in
this respect. We'll try to get this out as quickly as we can for you in
the morning.


The weather last night was a factor, both the total number of sorties and
the percentage of strike sorties were down from the intensified levels that
we achieved earlier this week. At the same time, though, NATO aircraft
continued to pressure the Serb forces operating on the ground in Kosovo on
what was Day 44 of operation Allied Force. The Serb forces remained
largely pinned down by NATO's round-the-clock operations and they were not
able to conduct any significant ground operations as a result.


On this Day 44, NATO's attacks were directed at tanks, artillery positions,
border posts and anti-aircraft gun positions. Strategic targets included
the petroleum storage sites at Brohovo (phon), Nis and Parane, the Horgus
(phon) bridge in eastern Serbia, the ordnance repair facility in Cacak an
ammunition storage site in Surdulica and airfields at Seneca, Ponikive and
Nis. These strikes have reduced the Yugoslav's military capability to
re-supply its forces and of course, as always, its overall military
capability - such is our intention - and I am happy to report once again
that all NATO aircraft returned safely to their bases.


As the Pentagon announced yesterday evening, air refuelling tankers are
arriving now in Budapest, Hungary and we are grateful for the solidarity
that our newest ally, Hungary, is showing in accepting to base these
aircraft and thereby participating in our overall effort.


You also saw yesterday the very important announcement from the United
States that a very large number of additional aircraft will soon be
arriving to enable us to intensify still further our operations. Many of
those are strike aircraft but a large number will be tanker aircraft which
will further enhance our ability to conduct 24-hour round-the-clock
operations. President Milosevic will see from this new dispatch of
aircraft that not only is NATO resolved but that he is also being encircled
militarily and giving NATO, as I said, a 7-days-a-week 24-hour-a-day
capability.


In just a few moments, the North Atlantic Council will hold its regular
morning meeting. What's on the agenda today? I anticipate that they will
review of course the current state of NATO's air campaign and humanitarian
operations, they will hear a report on the military situation from the new
Chairman of the Military Committee, Admiral Bencheroni (phon), who will be
attending in his new capacity for the first time and Germany, as the Chair
of the G8 meeting yesterday in Bonn, will highlight for the NAC the
conclusions of that ministerial meeting.


As you know, we have responded positively and very much welcomed the
results of the G8, we believe it sends a strong signal to President
Milosevic that the road he is on is now truly a dead end. Milosevic's
strategy has always been based on the presumption that the will of NATO and
that of the international community would break but he knows now that
NATO's resolve is rock solid and the understanding in the G8 yesterday,
including with Russia which is very important, now points the way forward.
We are very pleased that NATO's five key conditions are clearly reflected
in the principles set forth yesterday by the G8 in Bonn and this now gives
Milosevic a clearer than ever choice: either he can accept the demands
which are shared now increasingly by the international community or
continue to lose what he values most which is his grip on power and the
military apparatus which props him up and allows him to sustain that power.


On another note, let me tell you that today the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia has accepted a request by Russia for an inspection of forces
there under the terms of the 1994 Vienna Document. You know that that is a
document providing for confidence- and security-building measures among the
military forces of the participating states in Europe.


This inspection today is principally a matter for the government of the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but I want to stress that NATO will
co-operate fully. The inspection will commence early this afternoon and
will last about 48 hours. What the inspectors will see is more than 13,000
NATO forces in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which are
currently helping the government there and the humanitarian relief
organisations to cope with the roughly 200,000 refugees that are currently
in that country having been expelled from their homes in Kosovo and NATO
forces, even while they prepare of course for their mission in implementing
a peace in Kosovo, continue to do a great deal of work helping to expand
relief camps at the moment and transporting supplies to those camps and
off-loading aircraft coming in at Skopje airport.


A final thing to tell you today and that is that the Secretary General,
Javier Solana, will be going to Berlin this afternoon for a short visit;
this evening, he will be giving an address to the Arthur F. Burns Alumni
Dinner in Berlin, his speech - which will be available to you around
lunchtime under the usual embargo - will discuss the current situation in
Kosovo as you would expect as well as the results of the Washington summit
and NATO's future as it prepares for the next century and as I said, I will
try to give you, under the usual embargo, the speech well before the 3 p.m.
briefing today - that briefing will be given by myself and General Jertz.




QUESTIONS & ANSWERS


CNN:
Does NATO still have to be at the core of the newly-worded G8 phrase about
an international civil and security presence?


JAMIE SHEA:
In the military presence, yes, the civil presence is different, that is a
separate force but in the military force the answer is yes.


GYORGY FORIS, HUNGARIAN TV:
Just a follow-up. You said that the text clearly reflected the five
points. I wondered how clear it was because you say that a NATO core
should be there, the Russians and also a Yugoslavian diplomat say just the
contrary, that NATO should have a very small proportion and be
lightly-armed. One other point: NATO says that air flights go on as long
as there is no clear evidence that Milosevic acts. Meanwhile, the Russian
diplomacy says first stop the air strikes and then we can negotiate which
shows that the interpretations could be very much different. I wonder
whether you really can say that you reached what you wanted?


JAMIE SHEA:
Gyorgy, thank you for those obviously very important questions, they are
key, so let me try to answer them.


The first thing is that I made it clear yesterday that NATO and Russia had
not overcome all of their differences, we had narrowed them significantly
and we have made progress and everybody recognises that - Mr. Ivanov has
recognised that and all of the NATO participants have recognised that - but
there are still differences but at the least the differences now are more
on modalities than principles and that is a big step forward, to have least
agreed on the principles, modalities will now be easier to solve once the
principles are in place so that is significant.


Secondly, when it comes to the NATO core, you heard what the NATO
participants in the meeting said yesterday, you heard what President
Clinton said, what Chancellor Schöder said on German television yesterday
evening, what Mrs. Albright said in her press conference. Our position is
clear on that and Mr. Ivanov himself, in his press interviews as reported
in the agencies today, said nothing is ruled out.


It is true that Belgrade continues not to have that view but then of course
the final chapter of this story has yet to be written and we are certainly
hearing from Belgrade things that we weren't hearing a few weeks ago even
if they still fall far short of the five key conditions which NATO has set
and what the G8 Political Directors, as they work towards a UN Security
Council resolution in coming days, will be looking at ways to
instrumentalise - in other words to define the modalities to implement
those principles - but will those principles change? No they won't, those
principles will remain absolutely the core for the reasons I've stated all
along, because I think there is an increasing recognition that anything
short of those five principles would not bring peace to Kosovo and that is
what we want; they are all interrelated, if one falls, the others don't
hold either.


CNN:
A follow-up, Jamie. You talked about NATO being at the core of the
military presence. The G8 principles don't mention military, they talk
about a "security presence". Are you talking one and the same, security
and military?


JAMIE SHEA:
Yes, our understanding is that the word "security" - and "security" is a
strong word - means a military force, yes.


DOUG HAMILTON, REUTERS:
Questions about KFOR, Jamie. Why do the Russians want to inspect, do they
suspect that there is somewhat more than 30,000 NATO troops, is that the
reason for their curiosity? The reverse side of that question, if
Milosevic capitulated today and said: "OK, come on in, my guys are
leaving!", would NATO have enough numbers in Macedonia to go in and secure
the place or would there have to be something of a scramble to get more men
in if it happened tomorrow? Lastly, are we heading for a dual-key
operation here?


JAMIE SHEA:
First of all, Doug - in my usual order of answering the last question first
- no, we are not heading towards a dual-key at all. A UN Security Council
resolution, if it can be achieved - and our hope is that we will be able to
achieve such a resolution - doesn't imply a dual-key arrangement at all.
Look at the situation in Bosnia which I think is not necessarily the exact
model of what may happen but at least gives us some indication; we have a
UN Security Council resolution which has been renewed on two occasions and
which gives to an international organisation, in this case NATO, the
authority to implement the military aspects of the Dayton peace agreement,
an agreement by the way which is also endorsed by the United Nations.
There is no dual-key arrangement there but on the other hand, there is a
strong UN Security Council endorsement so no, I don't see that the two are
necessarily linked in that respect.


The answer to your second and middle question is simply that we have, as
you know, already a significant force deployed in the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, it is being increased and the Council is currently
looking actively in terms of assessing the planning of what more may need
to be done, no further decisions have been taken yet but we are actively
working on this issue, as you would imagine, at the moment and NATO will be
ready when the time comes with its contribution to this international
security force.


The first part of your question was on the Vienna Document. What has
happened is that a number of states were the parties to the Vienna Document
of 1994 and under this document these types of visits and inspections are
wholly routine and Russia has asked to carry out an inspection today in the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which, as a sovereign OSCE
participating state, has responded favourably to that request and those
allies that have forces in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are
prepared to allow those forces to be inspected in accordance with the
principles of the Vienna Document of course provided that the legitimate
needs of security and force protection are satisfied which they will be.
Arrangements for the inspection are being made between the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and the commander of the NATO operational force.
This we see as a purely normal and routine type of business.


PHILIPPE RATER:
Sur le même sujet de la KFOR, est-ce qu'il y a vraiment une tendance entre
les alliés à considérer que les 26 000 hommes qui étaient prévus
initiallement seront insuffisants parce que, en fait, il y a de moins en
moins de personnes dans cette province serbe, il y aura, à priori, plus du
tout de militaires serbes, est-ce qu'il faut vraiment aller au-delà de 26
000 hommes ?


JAMIE SHEA:
Philippe, ce que je dis, c'est que pour l'instant, le Conseil est en train
de passer en revue cette situation et de travailler avec les militaires
pour voir exactement quelles sont les tâches spécifiques que la KFOR
devrait accomplir vu, les changements de la situation mais il s'agit à ce
stade d'une évaluation. Aucune décision n'a, pour l'instant, été prise mais
bien sur, on demande aux militaires de nous donner néanmoins leur avis,
c'est normal et cet avis va être passé en revue par le Conseil. Donc le
sujet est discuté mais pour l'instant pas de décisions nouvelles.


PHILIPPE RATER, AFP:
Donc jusqu'à présent, il n'y a pas de tendance à considérer que 26 000
hommes ce serait insuffisant ?


JAMIE SHEA:
Non, non, pour l'instant, on étudie la situation. Voilà ce que nous avions
prévu au mois de juillet dernier, lorsque cette force a été conçue, voyons
un peu maintenant après l'évolution des derniers mois dans quelle mesure,
y-a-t'il toujours adéquation entre le concept initial et la nouvelle
situation et dans quelle mesure faudrait-il faire des ajustements. C'est le
travail normal que vous attendez de l'Alliance et nous le faisons mais pour
l'instant aucune conclusion n'a été tirée mais je te tiendrai, bien sûr,
informé de l'évolution de cette discussion.


QUESTION:
Jamie, can you elaborate a little about the differences on the modalities
of the five principles and especially concerning the international type of
presence in Kosovo, what are the NATO proposals and what are the Russian
proposals and where they don't fit together?


JAMIE SHEA:
I wasn't obviously at the G8 yesterday so I can't give you an insider's
account of how the discussion followed but I think in the statement that
was issued yesterday the core elements are very clear. We are talking
about a civilian presence which has been part of Rambouillet all along as I
mentioned yesterday where the OSCE for instance at the time was designated
to play a major role in terms of democracy-building and we are talking
about an international security presence and "international security
presence" by the way is the language that NATO has used before as you know.


We understand by "international security presence ", as everybody has made
crystal clear, an armed military force with a robust mandate, robust
command-and-control, robust rules of engagement which is able to secure
Kosovo and ensure that all of the elements of a peace plan are carried out
in full so that is it.


QUESTION:
A follow-up. In view of what has been signed in Rambouillet by the
Albanian delegation but not by the Russian intermediary and what has been
decided now concerning an international presence in Kosovo, how do you
expect that the KLA should interpret that point?


JAMIE SHEA:
I hope that not simply the KLA but all of the representatives of the
Kosovar community would welcome the results of the G8 because as I say,
those results show that the international community is coming together, it
shows that the international community is coming together around the five
key points which the Kosovar Albanian leaders have said repeatedly that
they also share for a return of the refugees, for a transitional authority
and for a lasting peace in Kosovo so I think that yesterday's news is not
simply something that should gratify diplomats but should gratify Kosovar
Albanians, it brings closer the moment when they will be able to go home
and I think as far as they are concerned that's probably what they want to
hear most of all: "When are we going to be able to go home?" After the G8
yesterday and given also NATO's continuing determination not to be diverted
from its goal, I think that moment has come closer and we will try in the
next few days to bring it closer still.


I will just stop there if you don't mind because otherwise there will be
nothing left to discuss at 3 p.m. and I will miss the Council so thank you.