NATO, Allies to Hold Military Exercises

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European troops will hold exercises in Albania this month and in Macedonia in September to warn Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end military action in Kosovo, the Pentagon said. The U.S. announcement came after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Milosevic that his offensive against separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the Serbian province of Kosovo increased the threat of NATO intervention. The exercises will be held in part to show Yugoslavia that allied forces can move very quickly into the region, Pentagon officials said. Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said NATO allies want a cease-fire to end the fighting but they continue to hone plans for a potential military response.