Response of the international community: The UN Notes

The Rambouillet Peace Talks

• The Rambouillet Peace Talks, held in February and March 1999 near Paris, were an international attempt to resolve the growing crisis in Kosovo following the Račak massacre.
• Initiated by the Contact Group (USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia), the talks aimed to secure a peace agreement between Yugoslav (Serbian) officials and representatives of the Kosovar Albanians, including members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
• The international community, especially the US and NATO, saw the talks as a final opportunity to avoid war. However, tensions ran high: the KLA demanded independence, while Belgrade insisted that Kosovo was an internal Serbian matter. The goal was to grant Kosovo autonomy within Yugoslavia, monitored by an international peacekeeping force.
• The draft agreement proposed a three-year period of autonomy for Kosovo under NATO supervision, followed by a future referendum. It also required the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces and the disarmament of the KLA. Crucially, it gave NATO forces full access to Yugoslav territory, far beyond Kosovo, which Serbia viewed as a violation of sovereignty.
• Kosovar Albanian leaders, including Hashim Thaçi and Ibrahim Rugova, were divided but eventually accepted the terms under intense pressure. Serbia, represented by Milan Milutinović, flatly refused to sign.
• The talks ultimately failed when Serbia rejected the agreement on 18 March 1999. The Albanians signed, but the Serbs and their traditional ally Russia did not. This diplomatic breakdown gave NATO the pretext for military intervention, and Operation Allied Force was launched five days later.