Russia and the West attempted yesterday to repair relations damaged during the Kosovo conflict, as NATO formally declared the end of its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. But the Western allies were divided about how much aid the Serbian people should receive so long as President Slobodan Milosevic remained in power.
Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) - the world's seven leading industrial nations and Russia - agreed to a joint declaration on Kosovo at the end of a three-day summit in Cologne. They promised to fund a multi-billion pound Stability Pact for the Balkans, designed to develop the economies of the region as the best means of maintaining peace. But the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, suggested yesterday that, in view of the atrocities being uncovered in Kosovo, the Serbian people must understand they cannot receive any help until they overthrow their leader.
"I think the Serbian people have got a responsibility to make Milosevic culpable for these crimes. They can't walk away from the situation," he said.
However, other European leaders, including the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, and President Jacques Chirac of France, insisted that it was necessary to distinguish between reconstruction aid and humanitarian assistance. Mr Schroder argued that humanitarian aid could extend to such measures as repairing Serbia's shattered electricity grid and municipal heating systems.
"You can't punish an entire people for the misdeeds of one man," he said.
The G8 leaders left Cologne as NATO formally announced the end of its bombing campaign following the complete withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo - 12 hours ahead of schedule. President Clinton welcomed the announcement and expressed confidence that Russia and the West would work successfully together to secure peace in Kosovo.
Mr Clinton was speaking after a bilateral meeting with President Yeltsin, which US officials described as one of the best of a total of 17 meetings the two men have held during the past seven years.
Mr Yeltsin appeared a little shaky as he arrived in Cologne yesterday morning for the last day of the summit, but he became more flamboyant as the day progressed.
While Mr Yeltsin made no attempt to play down the damage to his country's relations with the West caused by the Kosovo crisis, he was in a conciliatory mood. "The most important thing is to mend ties after a fight," he said.
Russia and the US agreed to revive contacts between the Vice-President, Mr Al Gore and the Prime Minister, Mr Sergei Stepashin, and to launch a new round of disarmament talks.
In a surprise move, Mr Yeltsin presented Mr Clinton with hitherto secret documents from Russian archives on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Meanwhile, in the Kosovan capital, NATO's commander said Pristina airport, held currently by a Russian contingent, would stay closed for at least eight days until Russia and NATO exchanged high-level notes on its control.
While the number of ethnic Albanian refugees flooding back to Kosovo topped the 100,000 mark, some 1,200 Serbs heeded Belgrade's call to return home. The opposition Christian Democrats accused the Belgrade government of trying to blackmail and threaten Kosovo Serbs to return, in spite of widespread looting and burning of Serb property by returning ethnic Albanians.
Kfor, the NATO-led peacekeeping force, said last night it had received written confirmation that Yugoslav forces had completed their withdrawal.
