Double-crossed by NATO?
A retired Russian general made some explosive allegations last weekend about
the NATO attack on Serbia five years ago. It was obvious that in June 1999, NATO
double-crossed Yugoslavia and Russia, occupying Kosovo despite the terms agreed
in the Kumanovo armistice; they never seriously intended to honor the agreement,
or even UNSCR 1244. Now retired Russian general Leonid Ivashov claims his team
had negotiated the original armistice, far more favorable to Yugoslavia,
only to see it betrayed by a Yeltsin crony close to the Americans.
Now, the
agreement he describes looks rather unlikely to have been accepted by NATO.
Consider this, however. Russian troops arrived in Pristina shortly before NATO
occupiers and the KLA. Someone in Moscow who ordered the deployment must
have known or assumed that a deal was made with NATO to include a Russian
presence. Yet not only did NATO block reinforcements for those troops, but
General Jackson was given orders to shoot at the Russians by his mad
superior, Wesley Clark. So either the Russians assumed too much, or there really
was a deal, and NATO reneged on it once in a position of strength (i.e. in
Kosovo, with the Yugoslav forces gone). Given NATO's record of trickery, the
latter is more likely. Which means that if Ivashov is right, NATO was prepared
to agree to anything so long as it could get troops into Kosovo, and
planned the treachery in advance.
Ivashov's statements, reported by Belgrade
daily "Politika," can be read in Serbian here.
Here
is a translation, for English-speakers:
MORE...
Politika, Belgrade, April 17, 2004
The Russian military delegation that
negotiated the end of the Kosovo crisis five years ago was double-crossed,
retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov told the "Voice of Russia."
The
retired General said that the head of the Russian delegation, Viktor
Chernomyrdin, changed his position overnight and unconditionally backed the
American armistice proposal, because US Vice President Al Gore promised him
Washington's support in the Russian presidential election. "General Zavardin and
I, members of the Russian delegation headed by President Yeltsin's special envoy
Chernomyrdin - we were cheated," said Ivashov, and added that he and his
colleagues had no choice but to resign from the delegation.
Ivashov said
that he and his officers had negotiated a seven-point agreement with American
officers which insisted on only half the Yugoslav security forces retreating
from Kosovo. He claims that they agreed that NATO would not have the decisive
role in the province, and that its troops would be deployed along the borders
with Macedonia and Albania - and not the administrative line with the rest of
Serbia - while Yugoslav border troops would remain in the province and filter
out the returning refugees to trap the extremists in Kosovo and prevent
infiltration from the outside.
Chernomyrdin initially praised the military
team's success, but fundamentally changed his opinion overnight and annulled the
agreement, supporting unconditionally the American demands instead.
(Tanjug)
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/more.php?id=806_0_1_0_M
