-Caveat Lector-
"Russian forces, supported by Serbs, initially tried to bar British
forces from the airport. Apache helicopters buzzed overhead and tanks were
ordered forward in a show of strength, but Serbs blocking the entrance
refused to back down."
Russia, NATO Tension Reported
By CANDICE HUGHES
.c The Associated Press
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Streaming into Kosovo's capital, almost unopposed
by retreating Serbs, NATO peacekeepers came face-to-face today with the
Russian troops who beat them to the city. A U.S. official said the two sides
were running ``a coordinated occupation,'' but some reports described tense
moments between NATO troops and the small Russian force.
Amid more confusion in Moscow over who decided Friday to send the Russian
column, U.S. and Russian negotiators worked feverishly to design a formal job
for Russia in the Kosovo peacekeeping force. But there was no immediate
result and no sign the column was planning to leave, as Russia's foreign
minister had promised. President Clinton was to talk by telephone Sunday with
Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
The first meeting between British and Russian forces at Pristina's airport
was ``cordial,'' said Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
``It's a coordinated occupation right now and the final details are going to
be worked out,'' Shelton told reporters in Washington, adding that there
would be 800 NATO troops in the area by nightfall. The Russian forces are
believed to number 200-300.
A British pool reporter described a tense encounter at the airport when
Russian forces, supported by Serbs, initially tried to bar British forces
from the airport. American Apache helicopters buzzed overhead and British
Challenger I tanks were ordered forward in a show of strength, but Serbs
blocking the entrance refused to back down.
Many Serbs believe NATO forces will be unwilling or unable to save them from
revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians, and see Russian troops as their
protectors.
The impasse at the airport wasn't resolved, the report said, until
negotiations were convened between the Russian commander, his Serb
counterpart and British Brigadier Adrian Freer, commander of the British 5th
Airborne brigade.
A British Foreign Ministry spokesman, reached for comment in London, said the
description of the situation ``does not tally with anything we are getting
through from Pristina.''
According to the ministry's information, ``relations between British and
Russian troops were cordial at worst, and in fact very good,'' said the
spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Another British pool report said three hours of talks between Freer and a
one-star Russian general had failed to produce an agreement on use of the
airport, which Russia and NATO were to divide.
Freer admitted that the overall control of the airport was probably in the
hands of the Russians, the report said. It was unclear how the airport would
operate.
The situation at the airport remained tense late Saturday. Evans said Russian
armored personnel carriers buzzed a group of reporters gathered in the
pouring rain on the runway, awaiting a news conference by Lt. Gen. Sir
Michael Jackson, overall commander of the Kosovo Peace Force who arrived late
Saturday.
Earlier, a thunderstorm and heavy hail greeted the British column as it
reached Pristina's city limits after an orderly 11-hour march north from the
Macedonian border.
The NATO march through the rugged mountain passes from the Macedonian border
toward Pristina proceeded slowly, but the tempo accelerated once reaching
flat ground. The convoy moved cautiously for fear of mines or Serb snipers,
but there were no incidents.
French tanks, however, were stopped by a minefield along the
Yugoslav-Macedonian border. A French mine-clearing team was dispatched to the
area, while 1,200 French infantry were preparing to leap-frog over the
minefield to fan out into the province.
Some Americans and about 200 Germans crossed the border, too, and the
Italians were to enter Kosovo later Saturday. A larger contingent of the
expected 8,500 Germans were to march into Kosovo from Albania on Sunday, and
U.S. Marines were to move in as early as Sunday.
The Americans who crossed into Kosovo included liaison and de-mining
personnel. There were no specific figures, although the Pentagon said it was
fewer than 100 people.
U.S. Apache attack helicopters escorted larger Puma and Chinook helicopters
carrying jeeps and other equipment to outposts.
As the British convoy reached Urosevac, a key town about midway between the
border and Pristina, about 100 ethnic Albanian villagers, waving and chanting
``NATO! NATO!'' briefly blocked the road before troops gently asked them to
move aside.
One elderly woman, Zolfia Selime, said she and other villagers had been
hiding in the mountains while Serb soldiers were in the area. ``We're very
happy,'' she said. ``God helped us to survive until this day that NATO
came.''
Serb troops could be seen retreating, some in civilian trucks, as the convoy
advanced northward.
British troops disarmed 30 Serb paramilitary militiamen without incident. In
another confrontation, Yugoslav army officers protested that they needed more
time to retreat from their positions before allowing NATO to proceed, but
they eventually dispersed.
In a move that stunned both NATO and American officials, a convoy of Russian
soldiers moved into Kosovo's capital about 1 a.m. to the crackle of
celebratory gunfire, honking horns and thousands of cheering Serbs.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the troops had arrived
``unfortunately'' from Bosnia and had been ordered to leave Kosovo. But
Russian media later said no such orders had been issued. After parading
through Pristina, the Russians deployed at the airport.
President Yeltsin's top foreign affairs aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said on
Saturday that Yeltsin himself had given the deployment order, but that the
timing of the move - before NATO forces entered into Kosovo - was the
decision of the Russian military.
Upon receiving word of the Russian move toward Pristina, Deputy Secretary of
State Strobe Talbott, en route to the United States, returned to Moscow and
went immediately into talks with Russian officials. The all-night talks
adjourned at dawn and reconvened Saturday afternoon.
Russia has been expected to take part in the peacekeeping force, but Talbott
has failed so far to resolve differences with Moscow over who would command
the Russians and where they would be based.
Russian generals have been demanding a separate zone within Kosovo under
their control. NATO has strongly opposed this, fearing creation of a zone
where Serbs might still be able to exercise authority.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was clearly caught off guard by the
deployment, expressing surprise after arriving in Macedonia.
Quoting unidentified high-ranking military sources, Russia's ITAR-Tass news
agency said plans by Russian troops to enter Kosovo on Friday had been called
off after Albright and Vice President Al Gore telephoned Ivanov to warn
against the move.
The Kremlin was clearly pleased Saturday by the move into Pristina. Yeltsin
quickly promoted Lt. Gen. Viktor Zavarzin, the commander who led the
deployment, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Saturday.
Signaling more muscle-flexing, Russia's political leadership has ordered the
army General Staff to prepare for large strategic exercises, ITAR-Tass
reported.
The unnamed Defense Ministry official did not say when the exercises were
ordered, or whether they were connected with the situation in Yugoslavia, the
agency said. The report also did not say when the exercises would take place.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Saturday he would
appoint Sergio Vieira de Mello to coordinate the civilian humanitarian effort
in Kosovo.
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