NATO's 17, 000-odd troops will have to stay for years to protect Serb enclaves outside northern Kosovo and the sensitive Serbian religious sites dotted across the country.

ECONOMIST: The Balkans

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and senior Bosnian Serb official Momcilo Krajisnik had said he would attend, Smith told journalists.

CNN: Bosnia talks founder as key Bosnian Serb fails to turn up

U.S. officials now hope that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic can convince Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic to sign a similar letter.

CNN: Balkan leaders pledge to ensure safety of NATO troops

The former president of Republika Srpska, head of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and commander of the Bosnian Serb Army has refused to enter pleas, but says he will co-operate with the court to prove his innocence.

BBC: Karadzic boycotts start of trial

Pre-dawn air raids resumed Wednesday with Serbian TV reporting attacks on the Bistrica hydroelectric plant near the southern Serb town of Nova Varos, about 125 miles (200 km) south of Belgrade.

CNN: EU, U.N. leaders to hold summit on Kosovo crisis