Gustave, A bit of info on Russia's current diplomatic activities....
1507 GMT, 990429 - Russian
Diplomacy Targets Europeans
Following deadlocked talks in Moscow with
U.S. Undersecretary of State Strobe Talbott,
Russian special envoy on the Kosovo crisis
Viktor Chernomyrdin is taking Russia's
message straight to NATO's European
members. Specifically, Chernomyrdin has
traveled to Bonn with "concrete proposals" on
how to end the crisis, and will travel on to
Rome before finally meeting with Slobodan
Milosevic in Belgrade. With Talbott today in
Brussels reiterating that NATO must be at the
core of a UN force in Kosovo – a demand that
is apparently the major obstacle to a
diplomatic resolution of the crisis – Russia has
decided to circumvent the U.S. and actively
attempt to expand fractures in NATO.
Germany and Italy are both critical to NATO's
current air campaign, and would be vital to any
future ground option as well. They have also
made it clear that they are eager for the crisis
to end. Both countries' governments are
threatened with collapse due to internal
division over Operation Allied Force. In
addition, Germany has substantial economic
and security interests that weigh against
deepening the rift between Russia and the
West. The U.S. is exerting every effort to
maintain NATO unity, and neither Germany nor
Italy wants to shatter the organization, but they
also can not tolerate the conflict going on much
longer. With a reasonable proposal on
resolving the crisis, Russia just might be able
to open a rift in NATO.
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