German Chancellor-Elect Hedges Support on Airstrikes

WASHINGTON —  On his first visit to the United States since being elected Germany’s next chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder on Friday appeared to indicate support for NATO airstrikes to ease the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo.

Speaking after a 15-minute meeting and 1 1/2-hour lunch with President Clinton at the White House, Schroeder condemned Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as the person mainly responsible for the Serbian military onslaught against the large ethnic Albanian population in the separatist province.

“If the Yugoslav president thinks he can depend on doubting the German position and readiness to act together with the international community, he’s making a big mistake,” Schroeder warned.

During a formal news conference at the German Embassy, however, Schroeder’s rhetoric became more equivocal. Because his government has not yet been formed, a detailed position on Kosovo has not yet been fully developed, he said repeatedly. He also dodged a question on Germany’s readiness to participate in North Atlantic Treaty Organization airstrikes in the absence of an authorizing resolution from the U.N. Security Council.

Schroeder, whose left-of-center Social Democrats won 41% of the vote in last month’s German elections, is expected to take office later this month.

Schroeder indicated that he is prepared to back any decision on airstrikes taken by outgoing Chancellor Helmut Kohl. But Germany, under Kohl, has been one of two NATO nations reluctant to go along with strikes without first returning to the U.N. for a resolution specifically authorizing the use of force against Milosevic. Italy has also voiced reservations about the immediate use of force.

It is widely believed that Russia, with strong cultural ties to the Serbs, would use its Security Council veto power to block any such resolution. The United States and most other allies believe that Security Council permission to use force is implicit in a resolution passed last month.

The Italian and German reservations are important, because they have already delayed a decision by NATO members to formally approve the airstrike plan and transfer control to military commanders. That decision, initially planned for Thursday, and then this weekend, may not come until next week, according to U.S. and NATO officials.

Germany possesses the largest military force among NATO’s European members. And without Italian approval, the United States would be deprived of one of its primary military bases, in the northern city of Aviano. A quick turnabout in Italy’s position is unlikely, because Prime Minister Romano Prodi agreed to resign Friday after losing a parliamentary vote of confidence over his 1999 budget.

While Kosovo figured prominently during their White House meeting, Schroeder and Clinton also discussed the global economic crisis, conditions in Russia and a more active role for the Group of 7 industrial nations in dealing with the current turmoil.

Times staff writer Richard Boudreaux in Rome contributed to this report.