Serbs Scramble to Meet Demands by U.N.

With the clock ticking down to possible NATO airstrikes, Serbian authorities scrambled Friday to show they are complying with U.N. demands to pull back their forces and bring peace to Kosovo.

The ethnic Albanians’ political leader called it a false show and said North Atlantic Treaty Organization strikes on Serbia would be welcome.

“The most critical issue is to stop the war machine of Belgrade and to protect the people of Kosovo,” said Ibrahim Rugova, who has long advocated pacifism to settle the Serb-Albanian standoff in Kosovo. “That’s an issue of humanity.”

In a flurry of moves, the Serbs invited U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to visit the Serbian province, issued a new appeal for talks with ethnic Albanian negotiators, removed a key police roadblock and showed reporters heavy equipment they said has been withdrawn.

But Annan turned down the offer, and the ethnic Albanians indicated that they are not willing to talk with fighting still continuing.

Britain and the United States, keeping up the pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, warned strongly that the time to prevent intervention is running out.

In Washington, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen said Friday that strikes could come within two weeks unless Milosevic meets all U.N. demands in halting his assault on ethnic Albanians.

“I believe action, if it’s required, will take place before that time--that there will not be a two-week hiatus between now and the time that would be necessary to provide relief for the people who are currently suffering,” Cohen said.

Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov, however, argued that the problems in Kosovo cannot be solved by the use of outside force. And Russia’s parliament declared that any action taken without U.N. approval would be considered an “illegal act of aggression.”