-Caveat Lector-
<<Or *why* the Russians didn't take over the university ... >>
>From TheIndependent (UK)
> Liberation of Kosovo - Russians bar Nato forces from airport
>
> By Kim Sengupta in Pristina and Phil Reeves in Moscow
>
> The commander of Nato forces in Kosovo yesterday conceded that the
> Russians havecontrol of the vital supply point to Pristina airport.
> General Sir Michael Jackson also admitted that the Russians were a
> force outside his command and that he expected their troop strength to
> grow.
>
> As the impasse between Nato and its "ally" over the airport continued
> for the third day yesterday, despite intense negotiations, General
> Jackson insisted he did not want the airport anyway and the Russian
> paratroopers were welcome to it. He told a press conference in
> Pristina: "I am not in a turf war, they [the Russians] regard the
> airport as important, it's not important to me . I am very happy to
> leave the airport in Russian hands - if you think that's a feeble
> excuse, you are absolutely wrong."
>
> Visibly irritated by questioning about the airport, General Jackson
> said he had considered using it as his headquarters, but now felt "it
> is too far out of town". He added that he was "a little concerned
> about minefields and unexploded ordnance".
>
> The press conference itself had been held at the second attempt. A
> celebratory one was planned for Saturday evening at the airport
> following the entry of Nato into Kosovo from Macedonia, but that ended
> in disarray after the Russians objected to the venue and General
> Jackson was forced to talk in the pouring rain, with much of what he
> had to say drowned out by Russian manoeuvres.
>
> A Russian general has declared himself to be in charge at the airport
> and his forces now effectively control what flies in. They have also
> set up road-blocks which have barred Nato military vehicles, while
> allowing in Serbian tanks.
>
> Despite General Jackson's pronouncements, defence sources say the
> inability to use the airport is a major handicap. Apart from the basic
> military principle of securing the main airfield in any operation of
> this type, Nato's plan had been to fly reinforcements and supplies
> directly into Pristina airport and so avoid the tortuous overland
> route that passes throughGreece and Macedonia.
>
> After their hour-long telephone call on Sunday, Presidents Boris
> Yeltsin and Bill Clinton spoke again yesterday.Convinced that it is
> not being rewarded for its role in achieving the peace accord, Russia
> is demanding its own sector inKosovo. Nato has refused, and insists on
> being in command of peace-keeping forces.
>
> Moscow is not wholly delighted by the way the airport crisis has
> developed. Russia's military top brass yesterday accused their own
> diplomats of failing to negotiate an air corridor to supply Russian
> paratroopers holding the airbase near Pristina. Senior Defence
> Ministry officials complained that their troops were isolated because
> Russia had been denied access to air corridors by Hungary and
> Bulgaria.
>
> While senior Russian officials have promised Nato that it will send no
> more soldiers into Kosovo without prior agreement, the head of
> Russia's airborne troops, General Georgy Shpak, said more paratroopers
> were ready to go.
>
> Nato yesterday continued to try to play the issue down, by arguing
> that Russia - meaning, the badly undermined Foreign Minister, Igor
> Ivanov - accepted that its paratroopers would eventually be integrated
> into the international peace-keepers. But it is unlikely that this had
> the approval of the Defence Ministry, which has close ties with the
> Yugoslav military leadership. Russian news reports have suggested that
> Moscow's generals dispatched the paratroopers after consulting with
> the Yugoslav leadership.
>
> For all Nato's soft-pedalling,the deadlock seems to have shifted
> little. The Russian Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, yesterday
> reiterated Moscow's desire for a "substantial" peace-keeping role,
> under the auspices of the United Nations.
A<>E<>R
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