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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (11605)	6/12/1999 4:54:00 AM
From: JBL	Respond to of 17770

That's a fair start for Nato and their teenage political leaders. I can't wait to see the remaining episodes of their epic victory.

To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (11605)	6/12/1999 4:23:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 17770

Russia wins race to Pristina By Boris Johnson in Pristina, and Tim Butcher at Camp Piper near the Macedonia/Kosovo border THE Russians rolled into Pristina last night, so winning the race to be the first peace-keeping troops into the capital of Kosovo. Their sudden arrival caused consternation in Washington and Europe. Adding to the confusion, the Russians then issued a statement saying that it was all a mistake. The foreign minister Igor Ivanov, reading the statement on CNN, said the soldiers had been ordered to leave "immediately", but there were fears that the Russian civilian powers had lost control of the military. Jubilant Serbs loosed off innumerable volleys of shots as the Russian armoured personnel carriers passed through the central streets, thronged with about 7,000 revellers. Serb men kissed each other and citizens were weeping openly at what is being taken as a triumphant coup by the Russians and Slobodan Milosevic in the dying throes of the Kosovo conflict. It was unclear how many Russians were in the convoy, but early estimates were 200 to 300. The convoy crept through an avenue jammed with people, many waving the Yugoslav flag and shouting: "Russia! Russia!" There were separate reports that about 1,000 troops were landing at the capital's Slatina Airport, which is where the UN is today meant to establish its headquarters under Lt Gen Sir Mike Jackson. The Russian arrival has thrown the delicate timetable for occupying Kosovo into chaos. Once again, in an echo of their arrival in Berlin in 1945, the green-uniformed Russian troops have beaten the West. As British troops were still massed on the Macedonian border, planning to enter Kosovo at 5am today, the Serbs were hailing the Russian arrival as proof that this was a UN and not a Nato operation. Goran Matic, minister without portfolio, said: "The Serbs were not sure about the agreement that had been brokered. The Russian arrival will provide new reassurance." Women rushed forwards to give the Russians roses, embracing them with the fervour that is owed to liberators. The Russian convoy will cause deep alarm in Nato since Britain and others have long suspected a hidden agenda to create a "Russian zone" in the mainly Serb parts of Kosovo. First estimates suggested that about 50 vehicles had arrived meaning that Moscow has a toehold in the area for the first time since the Second World War. The Russian convoy had plainly come from Bosnia, and the SFOR signs on their vehicles had been hastily painted out to read KFOR. Their arrival has not only stolen the thunder of Gen Jackson, but the decision to breach the agreed timetable has thrown into doubt the West's ability to control them on the ground in Kosovo. Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, and others have always insisted that there would be a unitary military command for KFOR - and that pledge looks decidedly frail now. The main Nato fear is that the Russian troops will base themselves in the richer parts of Serbia, to the east, so leading to a de facto partition. Western analysts fear that Mr Milosevic has long intended to keep Pristina and the lucrative mining town of Kosovska Mitrovica. For the Serbs who lined the streets and cheered, the principal significance is that they will be guarded by their Slav brethren, and not merely troops from "aggressor Nato", which has spent the last two and a half months bombing them. The White House was stunned by indications that Moscow had lost control of its armed forces in the Balkans. A sense of danger and urgency pervaded the American capital where earlier Mr Clinton and his officials had been congratulating themselves and proclaiming victory. One US official said that they disbelieved the shocking news when it first came through. One senior White House aide said: "The Russians assured the US that they would not cross into Kosovo before Nato, or until there was agreement on command and control." The National Security Council team rushed into an urgent meeting to work out a response, but it was evident as night fell that no one had the slightest idea what the next move would be. Strobe Talbott, the Deputy Secretary of State, who is in Moscow, was instructed immediately to seek an explanation from the Russian government. But within 30 minutes of news breaking that the Russian army was on the streets of Pristina, reports came through that Moscow too had been taken completely by surprise by the actions of the military. A Foreign Office spokesman refused to make any comment. He said: "I am not going to wake Robin Cook at this stage. We are being kept in touch with events by the Ministry of Defence." A Ministry of Defence spokesman said last night: "The situation is we are aware of the media reports. There is nothing specific we can say about it at this stage." The entry of Russian troops into Pristina came after a day of high tension between the allies as a squabble broke out over who would be first into Kosovo. A spokesman for Tony Blair said television reports of a race to the Kosovo border between British and US troops were "complete and utter nonsense". British troops had planned to move over the border at 5am today after reports that Nato had been held up by delays in the arrival of American forces. telegraph.co.uk

To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (11605)	6/12/1999 4:23:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Russia takes revenge for Nato snub By Christopher Lockwood, Diplomatic Editor Russia wins race to Pristina RUSSIA'S audacious move into Pristina will deeply complicate Nato's own deployment into Kosovo later today, and comes as a stinging rebuke by Moscow to the West, which has alienated the Russians by failing to give them any significant role in the peacekeeping effort. Although Nato has always insisted that Russia would be welcome to play its part in KFOR, it has become clear over the past few days that Nato has drawn up its plans for the Kosovo force with little regard for Russian sensibilities. The province was divided into five sectors, each to be run by one of Nato's Big Five - the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany. There was no sector for Russia, and no clear job to do. Russia was already infuriated by Nato's bombing campaign, which it believed was illegal. Cutting Russia out of the peace arrangements has been one insult too far. Russia has made negotiations difficult by insisting that it wanted its troops to serve independently of Nato, even though the UN resolution signed on Thursday specifies that the peacekeeping force must have a unified command. Though the Russian force involved, which earlier moved out from Bosnia via Belgrade towards Kosovo, is tiny, it appears to be heading for Pristina airport, where it will be able to press its case for a prominent Russian role in Kosovo with much greater force. But Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin has already said that Russia's armed forces are in no shape to supply even the 2,000 to 5,000 men for a Kosovo force earlier talked of, so it is unclear what purpose deploying an advance guard of 200 can serve. Russia's move will sow great bitterness between America and Russia and between America and Britain. America will be furious at having been lied to. Earlier yesterday, the Russians gave assurances to Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, that they would not enter Kosovo. The assurances are now seen to have been lies. Her deputy, Strobe Talbott, was in Moscow last night to negotiate Russia's role in KFOR, and was apparently given the same assurances by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. However, it may well prove that the Russian army has been acting without the authority of the government, which would be the most frightening aspect of all. Relations between Britain and America will also be plunged into rancour. British troops would have been in Pristina - where they would have secured the airport - before the Russians got there, had America played its proper part and sent its share of ground troops to the region in time. Britain was ready to go in anyway, but in a display of American pig-headedness that will cause lasting damage, Gen Jackson was compelled to delay his advance for a day yesterday to allow the Americans what they felt was their rightful share of the glory. telegraph.co.uk