(15 Mar 2001) Natural Sound

The Yugoslav army on Thursday began pulling out heavy weapons from field positions in Lucane village, in the troubled Presevo Valley.

12 tanks were relocated to barracks in Bujanovac, the major town in the area.

The pull out was a part of a NATO-brokered ceasefire agreement between Yugoslav government officials and Albanian militants.

The ceasefire appeared to be holding.

Southern Serbia remained edgy but calm early Thursday, a day after the Yugoslav troops moved into an area overrun by ethnic Albanian insurgents.

NATO allowed the Yugoslav troops to deploy in the 25-square-kilometers (10-square-mile) area near the boundaries with Kosovo and Macedonia to stem the guerrillas' insurgency there and the movement of weapons and fighters into Macedonia.

Meanwhile, the U-S ambassador to Belgrade signed over grants worth 450 - thousand US dollars for development projects in a segment of the volatile buffer zone around Kosovo on Thursday.

«We are here today to show the concrete support of the United States of America - through actions and not just words for the economic development of this region and for peaceful resolution of the crisis in southern Serbia,» said U-S Ambassador William Montgomery.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We are here today to show that this is not just words, it is deeds, it is action."
SUPER CAPTION: William Montgomery, US Ambassador to Yugoslavia

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Without economic and social development of the region there is no chance for real stability here and that is why the US and I hope other countries as well will be supporting this whole project."
Q: Are you optimistic about the future of this region?
A:"I am very optimistic about the long term future of the region. I think in the short term, it is going to be faced with a lot of difficulties."
SUPER CAPTION: William Montgomery, US Ambassador to Yugoslavia

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть