Delegation Reports Scant Progress in Serbian Talks

International envoys attempting to rescue Serbia from political upheaval found little room for compromise Saturday in talks with the government of President Slobodan Milosevic and opponents accusing it of electoral fraud.

The speedy fact-finding mission wrapped up a 24-hour visit as Milosevic foes and backers came dangerously close to violent clashes during dueling demonstrations in the industrial city of Kragujevac.

Separated by a cordon of police, the demonstrators hurled eggs and insults at each other but stopped short of coming to blows, witnesses said. The pro-Milosevic rally was one of several being staged by the government, complete with uniform Milosevic posters and bused-in supporters, to compete with the massive opposition rallies that have been held for the past five weeks.

Government leaders, including Milosevic’s wife, have attempted to drive a wedge in Serbian society by accusing the opposition of pushing the country to civil war.

In Belgrade, the delegation headed by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez reported scant progress. Its recommendations will be submitted Thursday to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, under whose auspices the mission was dispatched to Serbia.

Gonzalez was under instructions from OSCE Chairman Flavio Cotti to tell Milosevic that the Serb leader must respect recent election results and allow the “duly elected” officials to take office, a move that would give the opposition control of Belgrade and a handful of other cities, diplomatic sources said.

The OSCE position is supported by American officials, but there were conflicting reports on how forcefully that message was delivered--and whether Milosevic heard it.

“He’s hearing,” said veteran arms treaty negotiator Max Kampelmann, the American member of Gonzalez’s delegation. “One part of [the regime] understands they are in a transition. The big question is can they survive in a transition. [The process] may not go further without tremendous pressure.”

Milosevic’s scrubbing of opposition victories in key cities in Nov. 17 voting sparked boisterous but peaceful demonstrations in Belgrade and elsewhere, with tens of thousands of students, politicians, professionals and retirees filling the streets every day.

In a meeting Friday night with Milosevic and one on Saturday with other government officials, delegation sources said, it became clear that Milosevic was looking for a way to make a token concession without recognizing the results of the Nov. 17 election.

Gonzalez, in a late-night news conference at the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade, said “nothing was left out” of his wide-ranging talks with Milosevic, opposition leaders, editors of independent media, minority-rights organizations and student demonstrators.

Both the government and the opposition presented Gonzalez with a stack of documents that each side said bolstered its case. The government especially attempted to toss out a batch of legal technicalities to obscure the essential issues of democracy, delegation sources said.

Gonzalez was stranded Friday night in Belgrade without the rest of the delegation when their flight on the national Yugoslav airline was delayed by more than an hour. As a result, Gonzalez had to meet alone with Milosevic, a consummate politician known for his masterful skills of deceitful persuasion; what was scheduled to be a brief introductory meeting turned into a 2 1/2-hour session, according to OSCE officials.

Opposition leaders said the OSCE delegation was seeking legal formulas that would restore the original election results.