ISRAEL: RUSSIAN FM IVANOV MEETS PRESIDENT WEIZMAN

Описание: (23 Apr 1999) Russian/Nat

Russia's foreign minister has warned that NATO ground forces will only widen the conflict in Yugoslavia.

Igor Ivanov, in Israel to discuss the stalled Mideast peace process, expressed widespread Russian concern that NATO was preparing to send in ground troops.

After a breakfast meeting with Israeli President Ezer Weizman, the Russian minister also promised to work to prevent an escalation.

Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin on Thursday said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had accepted the idea of a U-N-controlled "international presence" in Kosovo.

It was unclear whether the international force discussed would be armed, under what guidelines it would operate or whether the offer represented a real peace gesture.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian with Hebrew translation)
"I think that now very active efforts are being made to find a political solution in Kosovo. Yesterday's discussions by the Russian president's representative Mr Chernomyrdin have brought about the hope that an agreement is possible. Above all it's important that NATO stops the bombing. This would be a necessary condition for the continuation of political efforts."
SUPER CAPTION: Igor Ivanov,Russian Foreign Minister

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...