Ron,
I think Russia has not intervened so far because at the start of the crisis, they did not know how far NATO would push, public opinions in the West were still favorable to the bombing, and expressing outrage and posturing was enough to satisfy the Russian people.
Then, when sollicited by the West to play the role of a mediator, they could not afford to be seen openly helping Belgrade.
Now, if they do pull out of those negotiations, as I'm sure they will if the bombing does not stop, they will escalate their threats with the West, first through the UN and diplomacy, and then with indirect actions which will put them on a colision course with NATO and US foreign policy.
They will do so because their own people are white hot, and politicians cannot resist the appeal of populism and demagoguery for very long. They will do so because the Western public opinions have started to turn against the bombing, because they have a variety of options to chose from, and because a complete defeat of Milosevic would also be a humiliation for them.
That's my analysis. Sorry if you believe it is a ridiculous one. :-)
Regards. |