VIENNA : Talks Under Fire

The next round of negotiations aimed at ending the Yugoslav war appears headed for the same fate as dozens before it: preconditions, ultimatums, intractable positions and boycotts.

Serbian forces have failed to surrender all the heavy weaponry bombarding Muslim strongholds in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has prompted Bosnian Muslims to warn they may not take part in the talks, due to resume Friday.

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is also threatening to pull out if Western nations impose a “no-fly” zone over Bosnia to ground his bombers. The open question about the joint U.N.-European Community talks is not whether they’ll accomplish anything, but whether they’ll even take place.