WASHINGTON, April 14 The United States and Britain on Wednesday tried to put the brakes on a new proposal from their German NATO ally that would offer a 24 hour suspension of airstrikes against Yugoslavia if Belgrade would begin withdrawing its troops from Kosovo. The German plan, which apparently caught some NATO nations off guard, would also reverse the alliance's insistence that NATO lead any post-war peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
THE U.S. and Britain were quick to downplay the significance of the German plan. Clinton administration sources told NBC's Andrea Mitchell that there were significant differences between the U.S. and Germany on how to define and verify that a Yugoslav withdrawal had begun. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart also sought to portray the German position as a mere expression of NATO's longstanding demand that Yugoslav forces withdraw from Kosovo before any pause in bombing would be considered. Lockhart claimed that Germany was no insisting on the "24-hour pause," an interpretation the Germans have yet to confirm.
Nonetheless, there appeared to be a genuine dispute over the idea of a bombing pause within the alliance. Britain, while welcoming Germany's push for greater U.N. involvement, but a senior British official said "I think you'll find that the military commanders will say (a 24-hour bombing halt) would be difficult."