-Caveat Lector-

Russia Accuses US of 'Provocation'

By MITCHELL LANDSBERG
.c The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - In the latest sign of frayed relations between Russia and the
West, Russian troops were forced to delay their departure for Kosovo on
Sunday after NATO blocked air corridors on their route. Infuriated Russian
defense officials said the reasoning behind the move amounted to a U.S.
``provocation.''

A NATO delegation arrived in the Russian capital to hold talks on the
impasse, and the Interfax news agency reported that intense discussions were
under way to resolve the dispute.

The billowing controversy came the same day that American and Russian
officials acknowledged that a U.S. military attache had been expelled from
Moscow after being declared persona non grata. No reason was given for the
expulsion of Lt. Col. Peter Hoffman, but the timing raised questions about
whether it was related to the Kosovo-induced chill.

According to the ITAR-Tass news agency, two Ilyushin-76 military cargo planes
were scheduled to fly about 100 paratroopers to Kosovo on Sunday, but the
flights were put on standby when they couldn't get permission to fly over
Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.

NATO said it would block the peacekeepers' flights until disagreements over
the Russian role in Kosovo were resolved.

Russia reportedly wants to change an agreement reached in lengthy
negotiations last month at Helsinki, Finland, that outlined Russian
participation in a NATO-led peacekeeping force.

Under terms of the agreement, Russian troops in Kosovo are to be based in
sectors commanded by French, German and American generals instead of
controlling a sector of their own, as Moscow had wanted.

NATO officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saturday that Russia
now wanted the right to expand its role so that it could send its troops into
additional sectors of Kosovo controlled by other NATO countries. Moscow also
wants more control over its own forces in Kosovo.

Russian defense officials were described as stunned by NATO's decision to
block the flights, and said the assertion that Russia's role remained
unsettled amounted to ``a provocation by the United States,'' the Interfax
news agency reported.

``All details of the location of Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo were
documented during the talks held by the defense and foreign ministers in
Helsinki,'' a Defense Ministry representative told Interfax.

The dispute comes against a backdrop of generally edgy relations. Russia has
been resentful of NATO's eastern expansion, and strongly opposed the
alliance's recent bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.

And while Russia played a key role in negotiating a peace agreement in
Yugoslavia, its relations with NATO since then have been characterized by
mutual mistrust and sharp disagreements.

Although Sunday's flights were blocked, Russia is already sending other
peacekeepers by land and sea.

A train carrying 144 Russian servicemen and 13 armored personnel carriers
left the western city of Tula on Friday and was bound for the Black Sea port
of Tuapse, from where the force will proceed to Kosovo by sea. They are
expected to reach their position in the Yugoslav province July 16.

Another group of soldiers, from the Northern Caucasus military district, will
depart from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk aboard four ships on July 10,
Interfax said.

Russia already has a contingent of about 700 paratroopers and technicians
based at the Slatina airport. The Russian contingent in Kosovo is expected to
reach 3,600 when the deployment is completed.

Another four Ilyushin-76 aircraft were set to fly to Kosovo on Monday and
Tuesday. In all, 300 paratroopers were to be airlifted to Kosovo's Slatina
airport by Tuesday, ITAR-Tass said.

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