[originaltext] The Yugoslav army is prepared to repel any cross-border armed

The Yugoslav army is prepared to repel any cross-border armed attacks on the country as it is authorized to do under the constitution, said a statement issued yesterday by the army press bureau.
   NATO yesterday again threatened military action against Yugoslavia under the pretext of resolving the Kosovo crisis. The statement noted NATO deployed 10,000 to 12,000 troops in neighboring Macedonia and a large number of naval and air forces in the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkan region.
   The degree of the Yugoslav army’s involvement in Kosovo is in line with the degree of danger there, and the army’s activities pose no threat to neighboring countries and local residents, the statement said.
   Once the "terrorists" in Kosovo cease their provocative activities and NATO gives up its military threats, Yugoslavia will pull out its troops immediately, it added.
   Ambassadors of the 19 NATO countries voted yesterday to extend alliance Secretary-General Javier Solana’s authority to order air strikes on Yugoslav targets, diplomats said.
   The ambassadors first granted Solana the power to authorize NATO military action in January.
   US envoy Richard Holbrooke was in Belgrade to send a "start message" to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to convince the latter to accept a peace deal for Kosovo. Otherwise, Yugoslavia would face NATO air raids.
   "We are… on the brink of military action," said Holbrooke.
   He met in Brussels with the French, British and German foreign ministers, as well as Solana and Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark.
   A senior NATO general said yesterday the military alliance could launch a long and protracted bombing campaign against Yugoslav forces if Milosevic did not agree to a Kosovo peace plan.
   "We have a very substantial and detailed plan for such an air campaign which can be rather long and protracted," said General Klaus Naumann, NATO’s military chief of staff.
   Naumann said NATO could launch air strikes within hours, but refused to comment further on military planning, saying it was important to retain an element of surprise.