Keeping the peace in the former Yugoslavia continued to be both difficult and controversial . IFOR and SFOR had received a lot of criticism for their inability to capture the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić . In late 1998 the conflict in Kosovo , between the Yugoslav authorities and the Kosovar Albanian guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army deteriorated , culminating in the Račak massacre on 15 January 1999 , in which 45 Albanians were killed . NATO decided that the conflict could only be settled by introducing a proper military peacekeeping force under their auspices , to forcibly restrain the two sides . On 30 January 1999 , NATO announced that it was prepared to launch air strikes against Yugoslav targets . On 6 February , Solana met both sides for negotiations at the Château de Rambouillet , but they were unsuccessful
Račak massacre
Račak massacre
Javier Solana