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 NATO

• NATO defense ministers open talks Thursday on a radical overhaul of allied military forces to make them better prepared to fight terrorism. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is expected to press his European counterparts to spend more to modernize their forces and close the "capabilities gap" with the help of U.S. military might. "The alliance should agree ... to an effective NATO role against the new threats presented by international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar wrote to NATO ahead of the meeting. Thursday will also see the first ministerial meeting of the new NATO-Russia council launched last week at a summit outside Rome. The defense ministers are also set to consider changes to NATO’s high command structure, which is currently divided between the European headquarters based near Mons and the Atlantic command in Norfolk.(AP 060005 Jun 02 GMT)

• The leader of the ethnic Albanian rebels who fought government troops last year launched a new political party Wednesday, promising to work for peace while representing the rights of his sizable community. Ali Ahmeti told hundreds of supporters that his party, the Democratic Union for Integration, was committed to peace and open to all ethnic groups. He also expressed hopes that the party would do well in parliamentary elections scheduled for September. "This is going to be a transparent party, open to all who want to contribute, regardless of their religion and ethnic background," Ahmeti said at the party’s founding convention in Tetovo. International officials said they were still waiting to see how the party develops. NATO Spokesman Craig Ratcliff told reporters in the capital, Skopje, that "the international community is not ready to take a position on whether it’s good or bad."(AP 051707 Jun 02 GMT)
• A top U.S. State Department official urged Yugoslav leaders in meetings Wednesday to cooperate more fully with the UN war crimes tribunal, a foreign ministry official said. Elisabeth Jones, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Euro-Asian affairs, told leaders here they must take steps to bring to justice 18 war crimes suspects believed living in the country if they hope to receive continued U.S. support, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The U.S. Embassy confirmed that Jones’ meetings Wednesday with Yugoslav President Kostunica, Foreign Minister Svilanovic and Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic included discussions of cooperation with the UN court, but refused to provide further details. A statement from the president's office said Kostunica complained to Jones that the UN court has shown a "selective approach" in prosecuting war crimes. "There have still not been any indictments against the(ethnic) Albanian ... leaders responsible for crimes against Serbs in Kosovo, which has a bad effect on our public’s view" of the UN court, Kostunica’s statement said.(AP 051943 Jun 02 GMT)

• EU enlargement chief Guenter Verheugen said on Wednesday he was sure the Czech Republic would remain on track to join the bloc despite June’s election which could return Eurosceptical ex-prime minister Vaclav Klaus to power. "In the Czech Republic, there is no government possible, or thinkable, that would turn the country against European integration," Verheugen told a news conference. Public opinion polls have shown the Civic Democrats, whose election campaign has often had nationalist undertones, running neck and neck with the Social Democrats, suggesting a coalition government could emerge after the June 14-15 ballot. "Whatever happens, there will be a clear and strong majority in the Czech parliament to...bring the integration process to an end," said Verheugen.(Reuters 1434 050602 Jun 02 GMT)

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