Europe US opens talks with Kosovo guerrillas Villagers of Pantina escape Yugoslav army shelling on Saturday The United States has confirmed that it has opened direct talks with ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
American reports say they are trying to negotiate a ceasefire.
Ethnic Albanians take up arms as shelling of their village continued Neither the KLA representatives nor the European city where they met were identified. The talks coincide with the setting up in Kosovo of a new party called the Albanian Democratic Movement which supports the KLA, and opposes the moderate ethnic Albanian leader, Ibrahim Rugova. Mr Holbrooke said the talks with the KLA were being supported by Mr Rugova, but would not continue unless the KLA representatives prove they have real authority. American and Russian teams of envoys in the region have so far failed to persuade President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia to call off the Serbian offensive in Kosovo as demanded by the ethnic Albanians. The United Nations Security Council, which would authorise any international military intervention, is to discuss Kosovo on Monday.