BLACE. Macedonia. June 5: NATO and Yugoslav military officials met Saturday at the Macedonia-Kosovo border to discuss the withdrawal of Serb forces from the province, reports AFP.

The meeting, in a restaurant 200 metres from the border, had been due to start at 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT).

But it was delayed after the Yugoslav delegation expressed concerns about the safety of the location. NATO'officials said.

British Lieutenant-General Michael Jackson, the head of NATO's military delegation and commander of the future Kosovo peacekeeping force (KFOR). arrived at 11:30 a.m.

The Yugoslav military delegation arrived at 11:50 a.m.

In London, British Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson said the meeting had begun.

"The military plans for the entry of the troops into Kosovo will be decided after a meeting today between NATO representatives and the Yugoslav military authorities," he said.

"I am pleased to say that this meetinghas now commenced ...

and progress is being made." he told a press briefing.

General Svetozar Mar-janovic. deputy chief of staff of the Yugoslav army, had been expected to lead the delegation but had not travelled to Blace. a NATO spokesman said.

Instead, Yugoslav Deputy Interior Minister Obrad Ste-fanovic and a senior army officer. General Blajodi Kovacevic. led the delegation into the restaurant, where Jackson and NATO officials were waiting.

The restaurant was surrounded by some 100 Italian NATO troops, as well as tanks and armoured cars.

NATO has nearly 16,000 troops already in Macedonia who would be the vanguard of a KFOR deployment.

In Brussels. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea, asked to explain the delay in the meeting, said: "My understanding is that they have some concerns of security."

In Blace, NATO spokesman Major Trey Cate told AFP earlier Saturday that Jackson would present the Yugoslav delegation with "a military agree-

ment which details a schedule for the withdrawal."

"There will be no negotiations. General Jackson is not in a^jmsition to negotiate," he

'There will be just discussions on modalities and on minor issues like uniforms," he said, referring to what Yugoslav soldiers would be allowed to wear during the pullout.

The document was presented to the Serbian side Friday and NATO had approved the document, he said, adding that the discussions could last" 10 minutes or two days."

NATO carried out reduced bombing overnight, mainly on ■ targets in Kosovo.

In Washington, the Pentagon said the air strikes could be suspended as soon as Sunday or early next week if Yugoslavia cooperated with NATO on the withdrawal of its troops.

However, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said air strikes could resume at any time if Belgrade broke the pledges in the Group of Eight (G8) peace deal which it accepted Thursday.