TOKYO (Reuters) - Senior Bosnian politician Haris Silajdzic said on Wednesday his country is willing to be used by NATO as a base for military intervention in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo, Japan`s Kyodo news service reported. In an interview with Kyodo, Silajdzic, the Moslem co-chairman of Bosnia`s central cabinet, also called for swift military action by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation against Yugoslavian forces in the province to head off a repetition of the bloodshed inflicted on his country. "The delay in international intervention in Bosnia resulted in the death of 200,000 people, and we can`t wait for the same thing to happen in Kosovo," Silajdzic said in an interview on the third day of a four-day visit to Tokyo. Western powers have warned Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that he faces possible air strikes over Serbia`s violent repression of the ethnic Albanian population of its southern province of Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of the population and are demanding independence, resulting in bloody clashes with Yugoslav government forces since February. NATO officials say that air strikes could begin within days despite Russia`s urging that more time be given for talks.

Silajdzic said "he would support air attacks from NATO`s Stabilization Force (SFOR) base in Bosnia," Kyodo reported. Silajdzic said he opposed any border change in Yugoslavia but Kosovo should be given a high degree of autonomy in running its affairs. Officials said that in a meeting on Wednesday between Japanese Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi and Silajdzic, Obuchi said Tokyo was concerned at developments in Kosovo and hoped it would not lead to an ethnic war like the one fought in Bosnia. Silajdzic is visiting Japan at the invitation of Obuchi who visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in April. Japan has issued an advisory to Japanese nationals against travelling or staying in Kosovo.