§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Prime Minister what assessment(a) NATO leaders and (b) Her Majesty's Government made at the time they announced that there would be no question of ground forces of NATO being used in Kosovo of the likelihood of retaliatory action by (i) Serb armed forces and (ii) Serb militia units against unprotected persons in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [79812]
§ The Prime MinisterFrom the beginning of the negotiations for a political settlement in Kosovo, we and our allies have been agreed that any such settlement would require the presence in Kosovo of a multi-national military force to oversee its implementation. This remains the position. NATO forces in Macedonia would deploy into Kosovo once a settlement has been concluded, and with the consent of the parties involved. We have all along made it clear that a force of the size and capability required to dictate and enforce a settlement would take a long time to assemble, and would not prevent Milosevic from carrying out his ethnic cleansing activities in the intervening period. The murderous actions of the Serb security forces against the Kosovar Albanian population began before NATO launched its air strikes. However, unless Milosevic complies with the demands of the international community, NATO airstrikes are the only way of stopping him.