Ramirez, left, Stone and Gonzales

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April 8, 1999
Web posted at: 2:24 p.m. EDT (1824 GMT)

In this story:

New developments

'Safe passage' assurance

Close bond between Cyprus and Yugoslavia

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BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- A mission that held hope for the quick release of three U.S. Army soldiers captured by Yugoslavia appeared to hit snags on Thursday as night fell and NATO threatened to resume airstrikes it temporarily halted while a Cypriot envoy flew to Belgrade.

Although Spyros Kyprianou, speaker of the Cypriot parliament, would not be meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic until Friday, he said the Americans might be freed during the long Orthodox Easter weekend now under way.

"I expect to have very friendly and constructive negotiations," Kyprianou told reporters. "I hope to have good discussions with President Milosevic on humanitarian aspects."

New developments

But as Kyprianou arrived in the Yugoslav capital under a NATO safe-passage promise -- and the Greek C-130 Hercules transport plane that had flown him to Belgrade returned to Athens without him -- there were several developments that made the release of the soldiers seem less promising:

Yugoslav government sources told CNN's Brent Sadler they had "no expectation" that the three men would be released soon.

Serbian Vice Premier Vojislav Seselj told reporters that freeing the three was "out of the question."

"The United States is leading an undeclared war against Yugoslavia," Seselj was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. Instead, he said the Americans should be tried as terrorists.

There was a similar assessment from a key Russian lawmaker, who returned to Moscow after a meeting with Milosevic in Belgrade. Gennady Seleznyov, speaker of the lower house of the Russia Parliament, told CNN that reports that Cyprus will gain freedom for the three U.S. soldiers are "rumors" -- and that the soldiers will be treated as "terrorists."

U.S. officials told CNN a temporary halt in NATO airstrikes on Belgrade -- timed to begin with Kyprianou's arrival -- would last only two hours, until 7 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT/1700 GMT). Before leaving Athens, Kyprianou said NATO airstrikes earlier on Thursday gave Yugoslav officials second thoughts about turning over the servicemen.

"We don't view (the release of the soldiers) as a done deal," a U.S. official told CNN. "This could drag out. This may go nowhere."


Kyprianou is reluctant to say whether his mission will be a success as he boards a plane for Belgrade on Thursday

'Safe passage' assurance

Both U.S. and NATO officials have said that the air war against Yugoslavia, now in its 16th day, would not be halted in order to secure the soldiers' release. In addition, the United States had said it refused to make any concessions to gain the soldiers' release.

On Thursday, however, the Pentagon revealed that NATO had arranged that no allied bombing missions would interfere with the Cypriot lawmaker's flight to Belgrade.

Kyprianou had asked for a 24-hour NATO cease-fire while he pursued his mission.

"What Mr. Kyprianou has asked (for) is safe passage to Belgrade and this has been given, so he is flying safely," Erato Marcoullis, the Cypriot ambassador to the United States, told CNN.

"During his stay, it was assured that he will be safe until his return, hopefully with the three GIs," she told CNN from Washington.

Kyprianou arrived in Athens Wednesday -- en route to Belgrade -- after saying the Yugoslav government was willing to turn over the three American soldiers.

His flight from Athens, which left at 3:20 p.m. (8:20 a.m. EDT/1220 GMT) on Thursday, was delayed about four hours as he awaited clearance from the Yugoslav military to fly into Belgrade.

Kyprianou was traveling to Yugoslavia on a humanitarian mission and not as a negotiator, Marcoullis said.

Close bond between Cyprus and Yugoslavia

Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, has close ties with Yugoslavia. Both are founding members of the Non- Aligned Movement.

Also strengthening their bond is the Orthodox Christian religion that Serbia shares with the Greek Cypriots in a region where the general perception is that Orthodoxy, the bedrock of their culture, is under threat.

Spyros Kyprianou, who was president of Cyprus from 1978 to 1988, has been a vocal critic of NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia. He has accused the alliance of violating international law with its air raids.

If necessary, the ambassador said, Kyprianou would stay overnight. It will "depend on developments," she said.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles; Spc. Steven Gonzales, 21, of Huntsville, Texas; and Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Michigan; were captured March 31 near the border of Macedonia and Kosovo.

Macedonia is an independent country that was once part of Yugoslavia. Kosovo is a province in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.

NATO says the soldiers were noncombat troops under its command and were on a routine border patrol. Belgrade says they were captured on Yugoslav territory.

Correspondents Walter Rodgers, Wolf Blitzer and Brent Sadler and Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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RELATED SITES:

Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites
  • Kosovo

Yugoslavia:
  • Federal Republic of Yugoslavia official site
      • Kesovo and Metohija facts
  • Serbia Ministry of Information
  • Serbia Now! News

Kosovo:
  • Kosova Crisis Center
  • Kosova Liberation Peace Movement
  • Kosovo - from Albanian.com

Military:
  • F-117s arrive at Aviano to support possible NATO operations
  • NATO official site
  • BosniaLINK - U.S. Dept. of Defense
  • U.S. Navy images from Operation Allied Force
  • U.K. Ministry of Defence - Kosovo news
  • U.K. Royal Air Force - Kosovo news
  • Jane's Defence - Kosovo Crisis

Relief:
  • Doctors of the World
  • InterAction
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  • International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Kosovo Humanitarian Disaster Forces Hundreds of Thousands from their Homes
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Kosovo Relief
  • ReliefWeb: Home page

Media:
  • Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  • Independent Yugoslav radio stations B92
  • Institute for War and Peace Reporting
  • United States Information Agency - Kosovo Crisis

Other:
  • Expanded list of related sites on Kosovo
  • 1997 view of Kosovo from space - Eurimage

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