Ambassadors from the 16 NATO member-nations were meeting today at headquarters in Belgium, while United States Special envoy Richard Holbrooke continued talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in an urgent attempt to persuade the Serb leader to abide by United Nations Security Council demands in Kosovo.

If the Holbrooke talks fail, NATO is expected to approve an activation order today, the last military step before airstrikes can be launched.

A NATO official said on condition of anonymity that an activation order would show NATO's resolve to end the violence in Kosovo, where hundreds of people have been killed and an estimated 2,75,000 uprooted since February's crackdown on ethnic Albanian rebels.

The order would transfer the command over the aeroplanes and military equipmentnecessary for an airstrike to supreme allied commander Wesley K Clark and authorise its deployment over Yugoslavia.

From then on, General Clark would no longer need any approval from the 16 member nations and proceed only in consultation with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, officials said.

``We are heading toward decision time now,'' said an official, adding, ``Solana and Holbrooke have been in close touch over the past week. The few days between any activation order and actual airstrikes allow Milosevic more time to consider the consequences.''

NATO authorities also met with Russian representatives at NATO headquarters today in an ongoing attempt to keep Moscow informed on the military preparations.

Deutsche Press Agenteur adds from Bonn: In a significant development, the German Government today approved NATO military action against Serbia and recalled the outgoing Bonn Parliament, which was expected to give a green signal to the deployment of German warplanes later this week.

``Today, thefinal turn of the screw has been made,'' said outgoing German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, adding that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had to cease his ``heinous game of cat and mouse''.

``I hope this very last warning to Herr Milosevic will clear the way for a peaceful settlement of the Kosovo crisis,'' Kinkel said at a Bonn news conference.

Defence Minister Volker Ruehe cautioned that strikes - if launched - would not be limited to Kosovo but could also include targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Ruehe said he hoped the additional pressure on Milsevic would allow resolution of the crisis through the deployment of 2,000 observers, inaddition to a military protection force in Kosovo to monitor a pullout of Serbian troops from the region.

Caretaker Chancellor Helmut Kohl met earlier with Chancellor-designate Gerhard Schroeder and prospective Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Schroeder's Social Democrats said they backed NATO strikes, with no new UN Security Council resolution, ifMilosevic stuck to his refusal to pull troops out of Kosovo. ``We cannot simply let this catastrophe continue,'' said SPD security policy expert Guenter Verheugen.

Kohl's acting Cabinet approved the NATO activation order for Kosovo but for German troops to take part, a ``yes'' from Parliament was necessary.

The outgoing Parliament has been recalled to vote on Luftwaffe jets for Kosovo this Friday, said Chancellery Chief-of-Staff Friedrich Bohl.

Both Ruehe and Kinkel indicated that pressure for a fast decision on deployment of Bonn's jets came from Washington.