-Caveat Lector- >From RussiaToday Updated Sat., Apr. 17, 1999 at: NY 7:51 a.m. Lon 12:51 p.m. Pra 1:51 p.m. Mos 3:51 p.m. Editor's Pick: An Eastern View Of Kosovo - A look at some of the media commentary on the Balkan crisis from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics. News Headlines RUSSIA Duma Backs Union With Yugoslavia MOSCOW, Apr. 17, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia's opposition-dominated lower house of parliament voted on Friday to allow Yugoslavia to join the loose Russia-Belarus union. The non-binding resolution was the latest symbolic show of solidarity between Moscow and its traditional Slav ally, which has been bombarded by NATO aircraft and missiles since March 24. In a declaration passed by a vote of 293 for, 54 against and one abstention, the State Duma expressed its support for Yugoslavia's effort to join the union and called on the president and government to review the issue. Yugoslavia's parliament voted on Monday to join the Russia-Belarus union. Communist deputies said a union with Yugoslavia would help end the conflict by forcing more caution from the West. But Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, a harsh critic of NATO's military campaign, this time poured some cold water on the union as means to stop the confrontation. "The union is a question of bilateral, multilateral relations. It has very little to do with solving the Yugoslavia crisis," he told reporters. The union already commits Russia and Belarus to economic, political and security cooperation, including joint executive and legislative structures, while retaining their national sovereignty. However, little has been achieved in these areas. Russian President Boris Yeltsin said a week ago he favored bringing in Yugoslavia, a fellow Slav and Orthodox Christian state. But on Thursday Yeltsin's deputy chief of staff played down the possibility of linking up with Yugoslavia. "Of course this will not happen soon, it's not possible," Oleg Sysuyev told Reuters. "It would be wrong to do if it would be a step drawing Russia into the armed conflict, so I am sure that this is not a problem of one day or one week." Belarus leader Aleksander Lukashenko, who visited Belgrade on Wednesday, also said Yugoslavia could not join immediately. The short Duma declaration on Friday expressed its support for a union including Yugoslavia, asked the government and Kremlin to look at the issue and ordered parliamentarians in Russia and Belarus to meet to discuss the issue. The Duma, which has no direct say over foreign policy but can pass advisory declarations, has backed the idea of supplying Yugoslavia with arms. However the Russian government has said it will continue to support the United Nations arms embargo against Yugoslavia despite Moscow's opposition to the NATO bombing. But Sergei Ivanenko of the Yabloko party, a liberal group that voted against the resolution, condemned it. "It's an extremely irresponsible position," he said. "They are on the path of isolation for Russia...it is very dangerous." He also said the document had little legal significance. The Duma approved another resolution on Friday, calling on European parliaments to help stop the NATO campaign, which it said also threatened an environmental catastrophe in Europe as NATO bombed Yugoslav oil refineries and chemical plants. The votes came as Yeltsin's new envoy on Yugoslavia, former premier Viktor Chernomyrdin, met Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow Borislav Milosevic, President Slobodan Milosevic's brother. Chernomyrdin also met the French ambassador and was due to meet the U.S. ambassador later in the day as part of preparations for possible visits to European capitals next week aimed at negotiating an end to the conflict. (c) 1999 Reuters) Editor's Pick: An Eastern View Of Kosovo - A look at some of the media commentary on the Balkan crisis from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics. An Eastern View Of Kosovo - A look at some of the media commentary on the Balkan crisis from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics. The conflict in Kosovo continues to dominate selected recent commentary from the press of nations in transition from communism: RUSSIA Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Kosovo could become the Cuban missile crisis of the Balkans Writing in Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Dmitry Gornostayev warns that Kosovo could become the "Cuban missile crisis of the Balkans." Gornostayev says that an announcement by President Boris Yeltsin last week that he favored Yugoslavia's bid to join the union of Russia and Belarus constituted a "sharp change" in Russian policy. Gornostayev says Yeltsin's comment was greeted as "sensational news." The Yeltsin announcement along with press reports that Russia was considering re-targeting its nuclear missiles, Gornostayev writes, "very much resembles the Cuban missile crisis of 1962." The writer adds: "So far we cannot say whether the acting leaders will have enough common sense to avoid the catastrophe into which the U.S. administration is drawing the international community." Izvestiya: As usual, Yeltsin has played his game In Izvestiya, writers Svetlana Babaeva and Alexander Sadchikov note that the retargeting and Yugoslav union pronouncements came as the Duma was preparing to debate four impeachment counts against Yeltsin. They write: "Yeltsin has mixed up all the current issues of the Russian political establishment." Izvestiya's commentary says: "Yeltsin's statements were followed first by cautious disclaimers" from sources who declined to be identified, then by responses from the Russian Missile Forces "which neither confirmed nor denied" the retargeting reports. The writers say: "As usual, the president has played his game. What exactly this game is we cannot yet say, but it is clear that the political situation in Russia, complicated as it is, is still mixed and uncertain." Babaeva and Sadchikov write: "Embassies of foreign countries in Moscow are starting to show interest in both the new would-be union of three states and the retargeting of Russian missiles. Now they will have to be told what exactly it was that Yeltsin and (Duma Speaker Gennady) Seleznyov wanted to say in reality." Izvestiya: U.S. prefers Moscow's mediation Another Izvestiya writer, Melor Sturua, reported on April 9 what Sturua claims were "previously unknown details of a telephone call between (Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny) Primakov and (U.S. Vice President Al) Gore." He said Gore asked Russia to mediate in new attempts to find a diplomatic solution in Kosovo. The writer said: "The U.S. administration has no desire whatsoever to negotiate with Milosevic eye to eye. We should emphasize that the Yugoslavian president likewise is not ecstatic about the idea of direct negotiations with Clinton, the American Hitler, and also prefers Moscow's mediation." Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Events point to imminent ground operations Also from Russia, two writers in Nezavisimaya Gazeta predict the imminent invasion of Yugoslavia by NATO ground troops. One, Dmitri Gornostayev (quoted earlier) even predicts the date. His prediction, he says, is based on "certain political and military indications." The writer cites a number of events, and adds: "All of these events form a logical chain based on which one can conclude that a planned political and military campaign is being waged to prepare the public for the idea of a possible ground operation against Yugoslavia." He says: "Against this background, rumors have been circulating in certain NATO member states that the NATO summit in Washington may be rescheduled for a later date. It is likely (therefore that NATO) plans to launch an offensive before April 23-24 (when) the summit was supposed to be held." TATARSTAN Kazanskoye Vremya: Islamic theologians of Russia support Kosovar Albanian Muslims In the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Kazanskoye Vremya describes the difficulties of Muslim religious leaders in Russia, Moscow and Kazan in formulating views on Yugoslavia. The newspaper says that Russian chief mufti Talgat Tajutdin and Moscow mufti Ravil Gaynutdin support the positions of Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov concerning Serbia and Kosovo. The newspaper says that Tatarstan's mufti Gosman Khazrat also expressed his solidarity with these statements. The newspaper continues; "Meanwhile, many of the influential mullas and Islamic theologians of Russia directly speak for supporting Kosovar Albanian Muslims. Turkey participates in the air strikes against Serbia. Arab countries positively assert the position of NATO, and, reportedly, Arab Islamic circles criticized the statements of the mufti in Russia." BULGARIA Pari: Refugees are not the only ones who suffer in this situation The Bulgarian press reflects official and public ambivalence. In Bulgaria's Pari daily, historian Andrej Pantev says he finds the charges of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo "awkward." He writes: "Recently one ethnic Albanian from Kosovo said in a TV interview that he had left a house worth ($300,000) in Kosovo. If you keep in mind that it was not a house in Manhattan but a country villa, you have to admit the Albanians did have a kind of autonomy, which other ethnic groups, also in Europe, still don't have. The Kosovo crisis already affects Bulgaria, and we have to ask ourselves, could this crisis repeat itself in those parts of our country where Bulgarians are the minority?" Pantev writes: "I prefer the Kosovo refugees to be transported to other countries abroad rather than be left near our borders. We do really feel compassion with the Kosovo refugees but they are not the only ones who suffer in this situation." Capital Weekly: This war is quite real for us The Capital Weekly says in an editorial: "Unlike the war in the Gulf, the war in Kosovo is real as far as Bulgarians are concerned. Because we see this war not only on CNN. This war takes place only a few kilometers from our borders. When the Danube bridges near Novy Sad get destroyed, they close not only the Serbian road to Europe but also the Bulgarian road. Unlike the fires in Kuwait, the fires in Belgrade produce fears almost everywhere in Europe." The editorial says: "This war is quite real for us (also) because of the thousands of Kosovo refugees. ... The messages of our politicians were mixed. First they showed understanding toward the fate of the displaced people, but when it came down to accepting them in our country, politicians changed their minds and began to explain that this move could lead to an explosion." CZECH REPUBLIC Zemedelske Noviny: A strong position is still enjoyed by left-wing dinosaurs In the Czech press, the crisis in the Balkans becomes a domestic political problem. Zemedelske noviny, commenting on the 29th Party Congress of the ruling Social Democrats (CSSD), says the delegates "betrayed their own government" when half of them signed a letter to the Yugoslav ambassador condemning what the letter called "NATO's aggression." Zemedelske noviny reports that Socialist International Secretary General Luis Ayala called on "Social Democrats everywhere" to give "unequivocal support to the victims of Kosovo and everyone else whose human rights are being violated in the Yugoslav province." The newspaper said that the two positions "showed the continuing differences between Western Europe and the Czech Republic." It added: "This illustrates the strong position still enjoyed by left-wing dinosaurs in the CSSD, and the huge gulf between them and their colleagues in Germany and Britain." ESTONIA Postimees: We have a chance and a duty to act as Europeans Estonia's Postimees urges Estonians to assume the burden of some number of the Kosovo refugees. The newspaper says: "The moment has come for Estonia when we have a chance and a duty to act as Europeans. If human reasons aren't enough, this (European attitude) is reason to give shelter." Postimees said, in a separate commentary, that Estonian and Estonian Russian-speakers perceive Kosovo differently, with Estonians mostly supporting NATO and the Kosovar Albanians and the Russian-speakers supporting Serbia. The newspaper says: "One of the main reasons for this is the fact that Estonian Russian-speakers get their information mainly from the Russian media." LATVIA Diena: It is impossible to stay neutral Diena in Latvia says in a commentary that "NATO must not lose in this military combat with the last dictatorship in Europe." The commentary says: "Therefore, it is impossible to stay neutral in this military conflict, and pretending that it does not really affect Latvia is dangerous." Diena says: "Russia's position in this conflict has been clearly stated. Therefore, the Latvian government will have to analyze and restate its (declared) foreign policy priorities" and place good relations with Russia at the appropriate level. Neatrkariga: Relations between Latvia and Russia unlikely to improve Latvia's Neatkariga says in an analysis: "When this war is over (regardless of whether or not Russia gets involved), the Kremlin will spare no energy opposing any attempts to allow any of the Baltic states to join NATO. The support that the Baltic states have expressed to the NATO military actions has damaged any chances that relations between Latvia and Russia might be improved." (The Transition Nations Press Review is compiled from contributions by RFE/RL's Broadcast Services.) 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