By Elizabeth Valk Long

TIME correspondent Marguerite Michaels was working the floor of the U.N. one day last May when a source began complaining about what he perceived as the American media's one-sided coverage of the war in the Balkans. "He was absolutely furious," recalls Michaels. "I said, 'Fine, let's hear the Serbs' side.'" Michaels offered to go to Belgrade on one condition: she wanted an interview with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic. Her source promised to try.

Three weeks ago, Michaels flew to Belgrade on a hunch that her conduit to Milosevic would come through. After she spent 10 anxious days in a hotel room, the hunch paid off. The man known as "Slobo" to his supporters and "the Butcher of Belgrade" to his critics sent word that he would be happy to meet with a delegation from TIME.

The results are excerpted in this week's issue: an extraordinary five-hour interview that stretched over two days. It was the first time the Serb leader had agreed to a major interview with an English-language newspaper or magazine in more than two years. "The rarity of the interview is some measure of how important he must think it is to seize this moment," says Time managing editor Jim Gaines, who flew in from New York for the meeting. "He was clearly trying to position himself as the person who can solve the problems of the former Yugoslavia-which is pretty interesting, since many people feel he's the person most responsible for having broken it up."

Milosevic laid on the charm -- along with a lavish lunch of pate, roast lamb, fresh strawberries and pear brandy. "He was engaging and very shrewd," says Time editor at large Karsten Prager, who, along with Central Europe bureau chief Massimo Calabresi, joined Gaines and Michaels in Belgrade. "It is essentially his contention that he can deliver peace in the Balkans in conjunction with the U.S." Indeed, the message Milosevic seemed to want Time's editors to carry home was simple and clear: Lift the U.N. sanctions, and he will end the war within six months.

Characteristically, the editors convey the message with a salutary measure of skepticism. "I think he may be desperate," says Gaines, noting that Serbia's economy is collapsing and the country is increasingly isolated from the international community. "The time may be rapidly passing when he can be a significant factor for peace. If he's not, he will surely be a significant factor for war."