Analysis: Nato's diplomatic
blunder
China's opposition to the bombing has been clear from the start
The bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade is
highly damaging for Nato and comes at a time when
Beijing's position is crucial.
The bombing has made the search for a settlement in
Kosovo infinitely more complicated.
Attacking a foreign embassy,
especially one that has already
expressed its hostility to Nato's
actions, is a diplomatic blunder of
the highest order.
Embassies are considered sovereign
territory of the nation they represent
and their diplomats protected by
international convention.
In a month and a half of bombing, it is also not the first
time that the alliance has been forced to express its
regret over for accidental attacks on civilian targets.
'War crime'
Chinese officials have
condemned what they say is
a war crime and a barbarian
act, saying the government
reserved the right to take
further action in response to
the bombing.
With Chinese students
venting their anger outside
the US embassy in Beijing,
the bombing seems likely to
strengthen pressure on the
government to take a tougher
line with Nato.
In New York, at an emergency meeting of the UN
Security Council, Chinese ambassador Qin Huasun
dismissed Nato diplomats' insistence that the attack
was not deliberate saying the alliance should take
responsibility for its actions.
UN council members from Nato countries were
subjected to more than five hours of criticism as the
political fallout from the bombing spread.
Spur for solution
Russia's ambassador said
the attack should spur the
international community to
find an immediate political
solution to the crisis.
But from within Russia itself,
condemnation was more
harsh as President Yeltsin
described the attack as
"inhuman and barbaric".
Illustrating Moscow's
displeasure with the alliance,
Mr Yeltsin ordered the Russian foreign minister to cancel
a visit to the UK.
His deputy said the Nato campaign had descended into
"an orgy of violence."
The Russian Government will now almost certainly come
under renewed domestic political pressure to take a
tougher stance with Nato over Yugoslavia.
Moscow is unlikely to abandon its mediating role in the
peace negotiations.
But it will almost certainly press harder now for a pause
in the Nato bombardment.
Focus of anger
This comes just days after
diplomats hailed what was
described as a major
breakthrough in bridging the
gap between Nato and
Russia over Kosovo.
What exactly happened still
has yet to be made clear, but
most anger at the bombing
has been directed at the
United States, whose forces
make up the bulk of the
firepower deployed against
Yugoslavia.
One senior official in the Russian defence ministry
official said the US had thrown down a strategic
challenge to the world community which could plunge
the planet into an apocalypse.
All this makes will make it
more difficult for Nato
countries to gather support
amongst UN members for
any alliance plan to end the
conflict.
Both China and Russia have
veto powers in the Security
Council and their support is
crucial to passing any
resulution.
Nato's military planners are
now investigating how such a disastrous error came
about and how to prevent a repeat performance.
But the most difficult challenge falls to Nato's diplomats
who must now try to minimise the damage done to their
efforts at building international opinion against
Yugoslavia.
news.bbc.co.uk
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