MONITORING MISSION BEGINS IN KOSOVO

( Editorial: --> 5904 ) PRISTINA, July 6 (Hina) - A monitoring mission accompanied by a 100 domestic and foreign reporters on Monday headed from Kosovo capital Pristina towards Srbica, the area in the south Yugoslav province where violent clashes started five months ago, resulting in more than 80 killed Albanians, mostly women and children, to date. The mission is composed of representatives of Contact Group member- countries, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union, and numerous humanitarian organisations. Before departing representatives of the U.S. and Russian embassies held brief speeches. According to the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission Richard Milles, the convoy would first stop in Srbica, 50km west of Pristina, for talks with check-point police and then with the Kosovo Liberation Army at another check-point. The mission will then head for Klina, a municipality on the blocked Pristina-Pec road, and will return to Pristina for a planned press conference, Milles said. The aim of the mission is to inspect the freedom of movement and provide objective information on the situation in the south Yugoslav province, he said, emphasising the mission was a monitoring and not a negotiating one. It is also planned for the mission to separate in groups and visit several regions in Kosovo over the week. Russia's Ambassador in Belgrade Yuriy Kotov told reporters the beginning of a monitoring mission in Kosovo was a logical continuation of an agreement Russian President Yeltsin and Yugoslav counterpart Milosevic reached in Moscow. The presence of international monitors in itself represents a stabilising factor in Kosovo, he said. (hina) ha 061557 MET jul 98