While Secretary-General Kofi Annan is optimistic about quick approval, China could delay Security Council action even after a bombing halt because of other difficulties it has with the draft text. We believe that that indictment is politically motivated,'' he said. We cannot give justification to NATO for the further bombing of Yugoslavia,'' he said. Today we are on the verge of peace,'' Annan said late Tuesday in Washington before addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Western diplomats said an encouraging sign was Shen's indication that China wouldn't force the council to wait 24 hours to vote once the draft text is finalized.
Any council member can request a day's delay on a vote, and China almost always does.
Under the peace plan, the Security Council must authorize an international force and civilian administration that would be dispatched to Kosovo under U.N. auspices to ensure the safe return of 860,000 ethnic Albanian refugees. The Yugoslav government agreed to the peace deal last week. Annan said late Tuesday he expects to appoint an administrator to oversee the civilian aspects of the plan within the next few days. He was scheduled to meet today with his two envoys to the Balkans, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan. Bildt was the international community's civilian administrator in Bosnia after the 1995 Dayton peace agreement was signed, and he is considered a leading candidate for the Kosovo job.