On February 5, 1999, at Pristina Airport, the first group of the Kosovo delegation gathered to travel to the Rambouillet Conference in an effort to bring the war to an end.
Rexhep Qosja, Bajram Kosumi, Blerim Shala, and Veton Surroi were leading this journey to France, while other members of the delegation were expected to follow shortly afterward.
However, Serbia, which at the time controlled the airport, initially refused to allow representatives of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to depart from Pristina. Without the participation of the KLA representatives, the first four members—and the rest of the broader delegation—also refused to board the plane.
“We have been informed that the Serbian authorities are currently preventing the delegation from being complete. This means they are blocking KLA representatives from being on this plane. We have expressed our position clearly: we want the entire delegation on this aircraft. When the entire delegation is on board, we will be as well. It seems that the weather conditions do not suit Belgrade,” Veton Surroi said at the time.
Meanwhile, the international community, acting as mediator in the negotiations, insisted that those fighting on the ground for Kosovo’s liberation could not be excluded from the Rambouillet talks.
“We have been in contact with the Kosovo Verification Mission and with the French government, which is involved in ensuring that the entire delegation reaches Paris. We believe it is absolutely essential that the full delegation travel to Paris, and we will insist that this happens. We expect them to depart this evening,” said US envoy Christopher Hill.
Following strong pressure from the Contact Group—particularly from the United States—Serbia was ultimately forced, on February 6, to allow the full Kosovo delegation to depart from Pristina Airport.
