Hope in Kosovo?

Slobodan Milosevic, who could have pulled (his forces out of Kosovo) immediately rather than wait until NATO's stay of execution was about to expire, played his usual poker hand. But the signs are that, as he has done in the past when the West meant business, he has buckled at the eleventh hour.

It is the first glimmer of hope for Kosovo, but peace is anything but secure. The bulk of these Serb military and police movements took place in the final 24 hours, making proper verification of Belgrade's claims to be in total compliance impossible -- just as Mr. Milosevic will have intended. Some of the impressive-looking convoys moved yesterday could turn out merely to have regrouped within the province. Even if verified as genuine, 90 percent compliance -- the level claimed by the White House yesterday -- is moreover patently insufficient. This deal has enough ambiguity in it already without Mr. Milosevic treating NATO's terms as negotiable.

-- The Times, London