Kosovo Sources Expect Extra 5,000
Russia Troops
MOSCOW, Jun 15, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia's
RIA news agency quoted "Serb sources in Pristina"
as saying on Tuesday that the arrival of up to 7,000
Russian troops in the Kosovo capital was expected
in the next few days as part of Moscow's deal with
NATO.
Russian news agencies used the same kind of
sourcing last week to report 200 Russian
paratroops would cross the border into the
southern Serbian province rather than stop at its
borders.
RIA said between 5,000 and 7,000 paratroops of
the Pskov division in central Russia would be flown
into Pristina within next four days.
The agency said the headquarters of the arriving
Russian peacekeepers would be located at Pristina
airport, now controlled by Russian paratroops.
"From there Russian columns will march to different
destinations in the province," the agency said.
Russian and U.S. defense ministers are due to meet
in Helsinki, possibly on Wednesday and Thursday,
to sort out the status of Russian forces in Kosovo.
Russian news agencies quoted U.S. sources as saying Russia could agree to
put its forces under the command of a Finnish contingent in the province and
thus avoid reporting directly to NATO.
Officials in Moscow could not confirm the RIA report and had no
comments on the possible shape of the Russian force in Kosovo, nor where
it would be located. ((c) 1999 Reuters) |
