U.N. Vote Paves Way for Force in Kosovo

Opening the door to potential military intervention by the United States and its European allies, the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the separatist Serbian province of Kosovo.

The measure was adopted on the second day of a new offensive by Serbian forces in Kosovo that the U.N. says has added 6,000 more refugees to the more than 270,000 people already displaced in the region.

U.N. refugee officials estimate that 50,000 people in Kosovo are without shelter, living in forests and mountains. The approach of winter raises the prospect of a humanitarian disaster.

Serbian armed forces directed by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic are battling ethnic Albanian separatists in the province.

In the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic called the U.N. measure “groundless and counterproductive.” He said the Kosovo crisis cannot be settled “with the use of force.”

Wednesday’s resolution, which passed by a 14-0 vote with China abstaining, does not specifically threaten force and sets no deadline for compliance, but it was adopted under the section of the U.N Charter that permits military action to enforce compliance.

U.S., British and French officials stressed the near-unanimity of the vote, particularly the backing of Russia. Moscow has resisted condemnation of its traditional ally, Serbia, which with Montenegro makes up Yugoslavia.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine described the vote as a “hardening” attitude in the international community.

However, clear differences remain over the advisability of using force in the region.

In comments to the council, representatives of Britain, which with France was the principal sponsor of the resolution, and the United States placed most of the blame for the humanitarian problems on Milosevic.

“The best way to stem this crisis is for Belgrade to heed our demands for an immediate cessation of the offensive actions and the pullback of its security forces,” U.S. delegate Peter Burleigh told the council.

He also warned that North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces could intervene if Milosevic fails to comply with the council’s demands.

“Planning at NATO for military operations if these efforts do not succeed is nearing completion,” he said. “The international community will not stand idly by as the situation in Kosovo deteriorates.”

Burleigh suggested after the meeting that the resolution adopted Wednesday and previous Security Council measures provide a basis in international law for use of force.

British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock accused Serbian forces of “brutality and repression” in Kosovo and struck a similar threatening note.

“President Milosevic will be held accountable for his actions,” Greenstock said. “He would be wise to take heed.”

But Sergei V. Lavrov, the Russian ambassador, argued that further action by the council would be required before NATO forces can act or economic sanctions can be imposed on Belgrade. The use of force, he cautioned, would be “fraught with danger of destabilization of the Balkan region and Europe at large.”

Chinese Ambassador Qin Huasun, explaining his abstention, argued that the situation in Kosovo is stabilizing and that it no longer presents a threat to international peace and security.

China, however, routinely declines to support Security Council actions on what it regards as internal conflicts.

The resolution calls for an immediate cease-fire in Kosovo, the withdrawal of Serbian security forces, negotiations between the government in Belgrade and representatives of the ethnic Albanian leadership in Kosovo, resettlement of refugees and the arrest of members of the security forces accused of mistreatment of civilians.

The United States backs a political settlement that would keep Kosovo as a part of Yugoslavia, but as a semiautonomous region.