BBC Wednesday, December 16, 1998 Published at 05:26 GMT

World: Europe

Grave differences over

Kosovo

Welcome back: Slobodan Milosevic (right) greets Richard

Holbrooke

President Clinton's special envoy, Richard

Holbooke, has said the differences between Serbs

and ethnic Albanians over the future of Kosovo

remain very grave.

Mr Holbrooke said five hours of

talks in Belgrade with the

Yugoslav President, Slobodan

Milosevic, had been dominated by

the recent upsurge in violence in

the province.

On Monday, six Serb teenagers were shot dead by

masked gunmen in Kosovo. Earlier, Yugoslav

forces killed at least 30 ethnic-Albanians who were

allegedly trying to smuggle arms into Kosovo.

"This meeting was planned before the events of

yesterday," Mr Holbrooke said, "but of course they

changed the agenda considerably and dominated

our discussions."

He saved special condemnation

for the killing of the six young

Serbians: "All the incidents that

threaten stability and lead to

violence are lamentable...but the

one that we find appalling beyond

words is what appears to be a wanton attack on a

group of primarily teenagers in the Panda bar in

Pec."

Mr Milosevic issued a

separate statement,

accusing the international

community of failing to

keep its promise to

prevent attacks on Serbs

by ethnic Albanian rebels.

"The terrorist gangs have

not ceased attacking the

army, the police, and

inhabitants of Kosovo, "

the statement said.

The BBC's correspondent

in Belgrade, Jacky

Rowland, says the task facing American

negotiators now is how to narrow that gap before

the situation on the ground in Kosovo deteriorates

again.

As a next step, the American diplomat leading the

self-rule discussions, Christopher Hill, is due back

in Pristina on Thursday.

Informal truce

In October Mr Holbrooke brokered an informal

truce in Kosovo and persuaded the Serbian

president to withdraw most of his forces from the

province under the threat of Nato airstrikes.

But many Serb forces remain and Mr Milosevic

says he cannot withdraw completely for fear of

handing over the province to ethnic Albanian rebels

with dangerous consequences for the province's

Serbian minority.

On Monday there were renewed clashes in the

province when Serbian forces killed at least 30

ethnic Albanians and injured another 12 in the

worst violence since the ceasefire was agreed.

Serbian border guards reportedly encountered an

armed group wearing uniforms of the Kosovo

Liberation Army, trying to enter the province

illegally from Albania. According to the Serbian

Ministry of Information, the shoot-out happened on

Monday near the border outposts of Gorozup and

Liken southwest of Pristina.

Large quantities of weapons and supplies were

also reported to have been seized.