U.S., RUSSIA OK PEACE-FORCE DEAL.

Byline: Dave Montgomery and Jodi Enda Knight Ridder Newspapers

Ending 33 hours of torturous negotiations, U.S. and Russian envoys on Friday endorsed a broad compromise for Russia's participation in the Kosovo peacekeeping force, and U.S. officials began considering whether to offer a reward for the capture of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

The agreement signed here by U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev sustains NATO's demand that the international force be under the unified control of the Western-led military alliance, but integrates Russian officers into all levels of the command structure. The pact authorizes the deployment of 3,600 Russian troops in three of the five NATO sectors in Kosovo, abandoning the Kremlin's demand for its own sector.

President Clinton expressed satisfaction with the accord, and a senior White House official said later that the Clinton administration is now considering offering a reward for Milosevic's capture.

The aim would be to provide an incentive for Serbs to turn on their leader, seize him and turn him over for trial to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

``I think that Milosevic is vulnerable,'' the official said, noting that the influential Serbian Orthodox Church called for his resignation this week. ``We should by no means be lackadaisical here because it's a period of his greatest vulnerability.''

Clinton, who is in Europe for the G-8 summit of the seven largest industrial democracies plus Russia, said Thursday in Paris that it was not practical for allied forces to invade Belgrade to capture Milosevic, and that there was no extradition agreement that could force him out.

The reward offer would be unusual, but hardly unique. Outstanding U.S. reward offers include one for fugitive Saudi financier Osama bin-Laden, alleged mastermind of the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Clinton administration has openly supported opposition movements within Serbia, the larger of Yugoslavia's two remaining republics.

A reward for Milosevic's capture is ``something we're looking at,'' the official said. ``I don't know the amount. I think it's a good incentive . . .

``I think we need to keep the pressure on him now,'' the official said.

The accord with Russia on its participation in the so-called Kosovo Force (KFOR) settles an important issue in how the victorious alliance will try to keep order in the Yugoslav province while effecting the return of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees forced out by a Serb campaign of ethnic cleansing.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that during the Helsinki talks, every time U.S. officials felt they were close to an agreement, Russia added something else to the equation. He said the major sticking point always was the question of a Russian sector, on which the United States would not budge.

Although Russia appears to have yielded its insistence that there be a Russian controlled-sector, both sides termed the agreement an acceptable compromise that has the approval of both Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The two are scheduled to meet Sunday in Cologne, Germany, during the summit.

Only Thursday, the mercurial Russian president had renewed his demand for a Russian sector.

``We have found solutions to the issue, and we're satisfied with the results,'' the Russian defense minister said Friday.

Under the compromise, which requires approval by the North Atlantic Council of the 19 NATO-member countries, NATO would have overall tactical command, but the Russians could decline an order deemed unacceptable by Moscow. The commander of the peacekeeping force then would give the assignment to forces from another country. That is similar to a command structure for peacekeeping forces in Bosnia, which includes about 1,500 Russian troops.

In another key provision, Russia agreed to relinquish its hold on the Pristina airport, which has been occupied by nearly 200 Russian paratroopers since last week. Their deployment surprised Western leaders, marring the start of NATO's peacekeeping mission.

Approval of the agreement concluded three days of roller coaster negotiations involving Sergeyev, Cohen, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. At times, the talks appeared close to failure.

``This has been a good day,'' Clinton said shortly after the agreement was announced. ``We are achieving our objectives now. We know that we have 35,000 Serb forces out, 19,000 KFOR forces in. Now we have the agreement with the Russians and the Kosovars are going home. So I feel very good and very grateful for this.''

Later, after a dinner with summit leaders in Cologne, Clinton said, ``I think it will work.''