White House discounts report on Milosevic deal

Milosevic

June 19, 2000
Web posted at: 12:08 p.m. EDT (1608 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House on Monday discounted a published report that suggested U.S. officials are involved in discussions aimed at getting Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to step down and thereby avoid prosecution for alleged war crimes.

"I wouldn't make anything at all of it," a White House national security official said of The New York Times report, attributing it to "a couple of babbling officials."

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"Our view is that Mr. Milosevic belongs in the Hague and not in Miami," the official said, referring to Milosevic's indictment by the International War Crimes Tribunal based in the Hague.

The New York Times article, published Monday, quoted another senior administration official as saying that the United States, its NATO allies and Russia were exploring via informal talks a deal that would give Milosevic his freedom and his savings if he steps down.

The United States would "have to think very hard before saying 'no,'" the official told the newspaper.

But the national security official told CNN's John King that the United States would never make an offer that guaranteed Milosevic safe haven if he were to step down.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he could not rule out that U.S. officials have been approached recently, but he said there was no offer under consideration or being discussed at the senior official level. Nor, the official said, was there any serious indication that Milosevic is interested in stepping down.

The possibility of the Yugoslav president stepping down was a topic of the recent summit between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the paper said, quoting Russian officials. Those officials said that Putin suggested Miami as a haven for an exiled Milosevic.

But other Russian officials denied the Times report, which they said "has no foundation whatsoever."

Correspondent John King and Reuters contributed to this report.

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