KOSOVO: PRISTINA: SERB AIR FORCE ON STANDBY

(24 Feb 1999) Serbo-Croat/Nat

With peace talks on the future of Kosovo province inconclusive, the Serb air force is on standby at Pristina airbase to respond to any NATO airstrike.

Peace talks were suspended until March 15 after mediators extracted only a partial agreement between Serbs and ethnic Albanians on a political framework for Kosovo.

The military part of the accord - which provides for the stationing of 28-thousand armed NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo - was left unresolved because of Serbia's steadfast refusal to allow foreign troops on its territory.

A commander of a Serb air force squadron said he and his men would be is ready and waiting to defend Yugoslavia.

SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"We are ready to defend the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We're ready to protect ourselves from the threats of the Western world. Me, personally, I'm happy with my squad and there isn't any goal we can't achieve on the soil of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I'm saying this to all Yugoslavians that we will fight for and defend our country."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Gvozden Urosivic, Serb air force

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