Jackson  ALSO: U.S. helicopter crew killed in crash in Albania Size may double for Kosovo peacekeeping force NATO targets more command-and-control sites Albania might move refugees farther from Kosovo Kosovo Albanian leader Rugova in Italy  CNN WORLD REPORT CONFERENCE: Follow CNN's 1999 World Report Conference this week in Atlanta and New York  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo

May 5, 1999
Web posted at: 1:26 p.m. EDT (1726 GMT)

ATLANTA (CNN) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday renewed his call for a pause in NATO's Yugoslavia bombing campaign, saying the alliance "must have the strength and courage to negotiate."

"Our bombing has positioned us to leverage negotiations," told CNN's World Report Conference in Atlanta.

"Now is the time to use our minds and morals, just not more missiles, in this resolution," he said.

Arguing that bombing was only galvanizing the Yugoslav public, Jackson said that a pause in the bombing would not hurt NATO unity or the alliance's military position.

"The issue is not is (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic worth talking to," he said. "The real issue is, if talks will spare us of a ground troop war, is talking worth sparing lives and spilled blood?"

Four days after his independent diplomatic trip to Yugoslavia secured the release of three U.S. servicemen held prisoner there, Jackson also called for NATO to reciprocate by releasing the two Yugoslav prisoners of war that it holds as a confidence-building gesture.

Jackson met with Milosevic last week to press for the U.S. soldiers' release and then delivered a letter from Milosevic to President Bill Clinton on Monday that requested face-to- face negotiations. He said that the two leaders now were "talking past each other" as they put forth conditions for ending NATO's 42-day-old air campaign in the Balkans, and he urged closer communication.

"At the critical moment, leaders must convince each other, whether at Yalta, or Camp David or Wye. Ultimately, leaders must convince each other," Jackson said, referring to the conferences between the Soviet Union and Western allies at the end of World War II and two successful Mideast peace conferences.

While not explicitly ruling out a meeting with Milosevic, the Clinton administration has given little indication that such a summit would take place. However, Clinton did ask Secretary of Defense William Cohen to review the status of the Yugoslav POWs among indications that the administration was considering their release.

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