-Caveat Lector- >From Int'l Herald Tribune Paris, Tuesday, April 13, 1999 Yugoslavia Seeks Union With Russia and Belarus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- By Michael Dobbs Washington Post Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- BELGRADE - The Yugoslav Parliament voted unanimously Monday to seek a political union with Russia and Belarus, in what appeared to be a largely symbolic attempt to gain support from the Slavic world in resisting the NATO bombing campaign. While there has been much talk about Serbian-Russian friendship over the centuries, the vote flew in the face of a fiercely independent Yugoslav tradition in relations with its larger Slavic brother. Yugoslavia's former Communist ruler, Marshal Tito, broke with his Soviet patrons in 1948 and devoted much of his career to resisting calls from Moscow for closer ties. Serbian officials depicted the proposed alliance with Russia and Belarus as a psychological lift for Serbs in their struggle with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over Kosovo. The prime minister, Mirko Marjanovic, described the vote as ''yet another way to resist the NATO aggression.'' Both houses of the Yugoslav Parliament passed the motion for union to standing ovations without a dissenting vote. In the Chamber of Citizens, the lower house, 110 deputies voted for the measure, none voted against and five abstained. In the Chamber of the Republic, 26 deputies voted for, none against and one abstained, the Yugoslav press agency said. President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia wrote to President Boris Yeltsin of Russia on Sunday to formally request membership in the alliance. While Russian officials welcomed the application, they appeared to be in no hurry to take action on it. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of Russia said that the matter would require detailed study. He said last week that NATO operations against Yugoslavia would probably be over before the country could be included in an expanded union. Concluded in 1997 after lengthy haggling, the union between Russia and Belarus has remained largely a dead letter, in part because of the very different personalities of Mr. Yeltsin and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. Mr. Yeltsin has been wary of attempts by Mr. Lukashenko to revive the old Soviet Union and secure a larger stage for his own political ambitions. The addition of Yugoslavia to the union would only add a further complication. Yugoslav leaders have been disappointed by the relatively modest support they have received from Moscow for their resistance to NATO. There was a brief flurry of excitement last week after the speaker of the Russian Parliament, Gennadi Seleznev, announced that Mr. Yeltsin had retargeted Russian nuclear missiles on NATO countries. But the report was later denied by other Russian officials. ''Any pressure on NATO to stop this aggression is welcome,'' said the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Nebojsa Vujovic. ''We fully intend to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty, but we can defend ourselves sooner with friends.'' A stream of Russian visitors, from Mr. Seleznev to Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov to a delegation of Russian Cossacks, have called on Mr. Milosevic during the last two weeks to express moral support for the Serbian cause and outrage over the continued NATO attacks. But there has been little in the way of military support, and Mr. Yeltsin and other Russian leaders have made it clear that Moscow wants to keep out of the Balkan imbroglio. There have been some signs that Russia could play a significant diplomatic role as a mediator in the event of a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The Russian ambassador to Belgrade, Yuri Kotov, has visited Kosovo and held talks with local Serbian officials and the moderate ethnic Albanian leader, Ibrahim Rugova, who is being held under Serb ''protection'' at his home. Russia has taken a paternalistic interest in the Balkans ever since Serbia regained its independence from the Turks in 1878. When Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by a Serbian patriot, Russia was the first to come to Serbia's defense. During World War II, the Yugoslav Partisans led by Tito looked to Moscow for ideological leadership, but relations cooled after the war as Stalin sought to assert his control over Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia was expelled from the Soviet-led Comintern in 1948, the country gradually opened up to the West. Most middle-class Serbs, particularly in the big cities, probably still feel more in common with the West than with their Slavic brothers in Russia. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Via Russia Today Yugoslavia To Join Russia-Belarus Union BELGRADE, Apr. 12, 1999 -- (Reuters) The parliament of Yugoslavia, looking for allies in its conflict with NATO, voted overwhelmingly on Monday to join the loose union between fellow-Slav countries Russia and Belarus. A total of 136 deputies out of 178 in the two chambers voted to join the union, a prospect welcomed by Belarus but treated coolly by some in its vast neighbor Russia. None of the Yugoslav deputies opposed the motion and six abstained. "Our future is in the east, in the embrace of Mother Russia. We are making this decision under the burden of bombs which has only speeded it up," Vojslav Seselj, leader of the ultra-nationalist Radical Party, told deputies. Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic told parliament the move would help Yugoslavia, which has been targeted by NATO air strikes for the past three weeks, to protect its vital state and national interests. Yugoslavia has no common border with either Russia or Belarus and was never part of the Soviet Union, with which its former Socialist leadership broke ties in 1948. But pan-Orthodox fever has gripped the Balkan country since the start of air strikes three weeks ago. Some 2,000 people gathered in front of the Yugoslav Parliament to cheer the decision. They carried Serbian and Yugoslav flags, posters of political leaders and banners, one of them reading: "NATO - New Albanian Terrorist Organization." They chanted "Serbia," "Russia," "Belarus," and the names of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Vojslav Seselj -- leader of the ultra-nationalist Radical Party -- as well as "Sloboda" or freedom. The Yugoslav government backed the motion to join the union, which commits its signatories to closer economic and political integration but preserves their sovereignty, earlier on Monday. "Even without this war, we did not have another way but to the east. Americans and their allies will break their teeth over the Balkans," Dragan Tomic, Serbian parliament speaker, told reporters after the vote. "Yugoslavia has done its part of the job. Russia and Belarus are now expected to do the same. We hope that will happen soon," Tomic said. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Moscow favored the idea of Yugoslavia joining its union with Belarus, but gave no indication that any immediate action was planned. President Boris Yeltsin repeated on Friday that Moscow did not want to be drawn into direct conflict with the West. Belarus, a harsh critic of the West, also welcomed the prospect of Belgrade joining the political union while saying it opposed taking part in the military conflict. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic said Yugoslavia had not abandoned a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis, "not even under NATO aggression". "This union will be welcomed by those who want peace and stability in Europe," Jovanovic said. "Those who may be against are those who are against Europe." ( (c) 1999 Reuters) Via Russia Today Updated Mon., Apr. 12, 1999 at: NY 11:08 a.m. Lon 4:08 p.m. Pra 5:08 p.m. Mos 7:08 p.m. Editors Pick:What Now? -- Moderate Russian politicians worry about the internal consequences of Kosovo. News Headlines RUSSIA Russia Continues Symbolic Embrace Of Yugoslavia Duma Postpones Yeltsin Impeachment Vote Yugoslavia To Join Russia-Belarus Union Hungary, Russia Make Deal To Move Convoy Yeltsin Rejects Duma Impeachment Vote Delay Ivanov Says Political Solution Possible In Kosovo Assassination Of Chechen Leader Foiled Primakov Defends His Record Russian Newspaper: Chubais Could Take Premiership France Sees Russian Role In Ending Kosovo Conflict Taliban Asks U.N. To Block Russian "Interference" Yeltsin Meets Russian Patriarch On Easter Day Annan Phones Russia's Primakov Yugoslav Parliaments To Mull Russia, Belarus Union Press Say Assad Irked By Sharon's Visit To Moscow Airlines Face Insurance Rate Hike As Y2K Precaution Moslem Extremism Threatens Tatarstan's Stability St. Petersburg Marks 100th Anniversary Of Nabokov's Birth Russia Says It Deports Turkish Spy Attackers Kill 3 In Raid On Police Station Russian, Japanese Scientists Unite In Hi-Tech Marriage C I S Kyrgyz president presents new PM to government Armenian Minister Says Azeris Eyeing War <<- Previous article || Next article ->> Hungary, Russia Make Deal To Move Convoy BUDAPEST, Apr. 12, 1999 -- (Reuters) Hungary said on Monday it had lifted a two-day-old blockade against a Russian aid convoy bound for Yugoslavia, defusing a growing row with Moscow. "We solved the question on a ministerial level in short order," Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said at a joint news conference with Russian Minister for Emergencies Sergei Shoigu. "This humanitarian assistance will pass through Hungary," he said, adding that the convoy -- blocked at the Ukrainian border on Saturday because it was carrying diesel fuel and because some of the trucks were armored -- was now free to move. Shoigu said none of the humanitarian supplies meant to provide aid to Yugoslavia during the NATO bombing campaign were forbidden by U.N. sanctions. "We are taking assistance to everybody who has been suffering from this aggression," he said. His ministry in Moscow said the convoy of five-tonne trucks was carrying a field hospital, medical equipment, disinfectant and blankets. Russian television channels said the aid, intended to arrive in Belgrade for Orthodox Christian Easter celebrations on Sunday, now had no chance of reaching Serbia on Monday. Earlier in the day Russia had warned Hungary that its decision to block the 73-vehicle convoy would deal a serious blow to bilateral relations. "If there is not a solution in the coming hours, it will have the most serious results for Russian-Hungarian relations," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a Moscow news conference after discussing the matter with Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Hungarian ambassador Erno Keskeny. "The detention of Russian humanitarian aid is a disturbing fact...the Hungarian activities are seen in Moscow as an unfriendly act." Moscow said the issue was the first test for Russo-Hungarian relations since the former Soviet ally joined NATO in April. Russian officials and members of the convoy have reportedly complained about Budapest's visible change of attitude towards the Russians in the past month. NATO warplanes have systematically pounded fuel depots across Yugoslavia since bombing started 20 days ago in an attempt to cripple transport of the army and security forces. The head of the Russian convoy said the fuel was needed for the trip across Hungary and to power a field hospital when it becomes operational. Russia, opposed to Hungary's admission to NATO, has frozen ties with the military alliance, denouncing its bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in language reminiscent of the Cold War. Hungary has allowed NATO the use of its airspace, military airfields and support infrastructure during the current crisis. Alliance planes have used the airspace mainly for in-flight refueling and reconnaissance flights. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that, under the compromise struck with the Russians on Monday, five trucks deemed to be military vehicles would not enter Hungary while Hungary would allow four of the eight truckloads of diesel fuel to go to Yugoslavia. He added that two Hungarian observers would join the convoy. Officials said the observers might accompany the trucks to their destination inside Yugoslavia. ( (c) 1999 Reuters) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. 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