STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yugoslavia readies for high profile Putin visit BELGRADE, June 16 (AFP) - Yugoslavia's reformist leaders prepared to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin here Saturday on the first visit by a Russian head of state to Belgrade since the break-up of the former communist Yugoslav federation in 1992. Putin was due to arrive directly from his first summit meeting with US President George W. Bush, being held Saturday in the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia and expected to touch on tensions in the Balkans. The trip, announced only on Friday, and its timing after the Slovenia summit, were widely interpreted as a sign of Putin's desire to boost Moscow's global role following years of decline under his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. Officials here said Putin and Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica would hold their first meeting immediately after the Russian leader's arrival late Saturday. A second round of talks between the two men was scheduled for Sunday morning, followed by a press conference. Putin was also scheduled to hold separate discussions with Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and members of his government. The Yugoslav information ministry said the meetings would focus on economic cooperation and key aspects of "the Yugoslav crisis -- Kosovo, southern Serbia and the fate of the federation between Serbia and Montenegro." The daily Danas reported that more than 50 people from Putin's security services has arrived in Belgrade Friday to prepare for the two-day visit and secure the White Court, a former royal palace in the suburb of Dedinje where Putin was to spend the night. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic told Belgrade radio B92 that the timing of Putin's visit immediately after his talks with Bush signalled the importance of the trip. "We will be in the position to discuss the results of that meeting on the same night," Svilanovic said. Svilanovic insisted Putin's trip "really has nothing to do with current political events in our country." The visit coincides with a deepening rift between parties in the Yugoslav coalition government over legislation that could permit the extradition of jailed former president Slobodan Milosevic -- a long-time ally of Moscow -- to face war crimes charges at the UN tribunal in The Hague. Yugoslavia faces mounting international pressure to cooperate with the UN court, with the United States blocking a 249 million dollar (290 million euro) loan to Belgrade earlier this month to protest lack of progress in prosecuting suspected war criminals. Moscow, which for a long time supported Milosevic's regime before belatedly switching allegiance to the Kostunica government, has maintained privileged ties with Belgrade, and has often criticized the UN war crimes tribunal for being biased against the Serbs. A staunch ally of Belgrade during NATO's 1999 bombing campaign to force Yugoslav troops out of the majority ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo, Moscow helped to bring about a deal to end the conflict. Russian troops also serve in the the 42,000-man peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Putin's talks with Kostunica are likely to focus on the tense situation in neighboring Macedonia, where ethnic Albanian rebels have fought with government troops for several months. Russia, which has labelled Kosovo -- administered by the United Nations and guarded by NATO-led peacekeepers -- "Europe's capital of crime and terrorism," has accused the West of indulgence towards the rebels in Macedonia. Meanwhile Belgrade, which can count on Moscow as a vocal supporter of a unified Yugoslavia, is expected to welcome greater Russian involvement. After the visit to Belgrade, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov are to visit Kosovo on Sunday for talks with the commander of the Kosovo force and Russian troops serving there. Email this story Miroslav Antic, http://www.antic.org/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
