[ALBSA-Info] Putin cautiously backs Yugoslavia's Kostunica

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Putin cautiously backs Yugoslavia's Kostunica

By Martin Nesirky

MOSCOW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Russia cut Slobodan Milosevic adrift on Friday and 
gingerly joined the West in backing Vojislav Kostunica as Yugoslavia's new 
leader. 

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov -- dispatched by President Vladimir Putin to 
mediate in the Yugoslav crisis within hours of their return from an official 
visit to India -- held talks with Kostunica in the presidential office and 
Milosevic at home. 

``I have passed to Mr Kostunica regards from the president of Russia, Mr 
Putin, and congratulated him on his victory in the presidential election,'' 
Ivanov said after meeting Kostunica. 

That one phrase turned Russian policy toward the Balkans upside down and was 
enthusiastically greeted in Washington, although Putin will have some 
explaining to do at home. 

Kostunica implicitly rebuked Moscow for dithering until it had no other 
choice but to back him in the dispute over the result of a controversial 
September 24 presidential election, a theme picked up by liberal Russian 
politician Boris Nemtsov. 

``Putin has responded to the national interests of Russia,'' he said on NTV 
commercial television. ``It took him a long time to do it, but, thank God, he 
came back from India and did what needed to be done.'' 

Yugoslav television showed Milosevic meeting Ivanov, who later told reporters 
Milosevic planned to continue in politics through his Socialist Party. 

``Being the leader of the largest political party in Serbia, he intends to 
continue to play a political role in the country,'' he said. This appeared to 
imply that Milosevic was prepared to give up the Yugoslav presidency. 

Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court, which sparked Thursday's uprising by 
nullifying the election, said Kostunica had been elected after all, the 
Yugoslav Beta news agency reported. 

CAREFUL WORDING 

Putin's message to Kostunica, the text of which was released by the Kremlin, 
was deftly drafted to avoid the words ``president'' or ``election.'' But he 
left no doubt he considered Kostunica, whose supporters control Belgrade, was 
now in charge. 

``I hope that you as the leader of the democratic forces in Yugoslavia, 
having assumed responsibility for the future of the fraternal Yugoslav 
people, will be able to do everything possible to overcome the internal 
political crisis,'' Putin said. 

``I am convinced that you and your supporters, being adherents to democratic 
values, will do everything necessary so events develop within a legal 
framework and the necessary conditions are created to strengthen the 
legitimate basis of the legislative and executive branches of power,'' he 
said. 

Russia had previously carefully avoided taking sides, saying that only 
Yugoslav courts could declare a winner. 

Ivanov continued to emphasise technical nuances, saying later on Friday: ``I 
did not congratulate Mr Kostunica as president, but congratulated him with 
his success, with his victory, in the elections.'' 

Kostunica did not appear impressed with Ivanov's comments. 

``I think the crisis and arguments about our election results were 
unnecessary,'' he said. ``I am deeply convinced that this is the last time 
that representatives of the international community and friendly countries 
like the Russian Federation try to resolve our internal disputes.'' 

If Kostunica was cool, the United States was ecstatic. 

``The fact that the Russians have (recognised Kostunica as winner), shows 
that the Russians are with the Serb people, that they have recognised the 
democratic election,'' U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told CNN. 

``It's very, very important news,'' she said. 

PUTIN HAS TO EXPLAIN POLICY SHIFT 

This shift in policy, even if carefully couched by Putin, will take some 
explaining to a domestic audience. Ordinary Russians and their political 
leaders had strongly supported Milosevic during Yugoslavia's conflicts with 
the West. 

Russian Communists and nationalist parliamentarians accused Kostunica's 
supporters of staging a coup -- Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov said 
the events in Belgrade smelled of ``marijuana, vodka and dollars.'' 

Despite Ivanov's remarks and Putin's message, the speaker of the State Duma 
lower house of parliament, Gennady Seleznyov, told reporters he believed 
Putin was still fence-sitting. 

Nemtsov said Russia would have lost influence in the Balkans if it had not 
acknowledged Milosevic's defeat. 

Washington has been urging Russia to persuade Milosevic to step down. Western 
diplomats say Putin has been edging away from Milosevic in private 
conversations for the past two weeks but he has hitherto played a careful 
game in public. 

Belarus, like Russia an Orthodox Christian ally of Yugoslavia, said it would 
consider giving Milosevic asylum but had not been asked. But the Yugoslav 
ambassador to Moscow, who is Milosevic's brother, told Reuters Television the 
president was not planning to go anywhere. 

``Why should he leave the country? Half the population openly supports him. 
He is the leader of a major party,'' said Borislav Milosevic. ``There are 
absolutely no reasons to leave the country. These are rumours being spread to 
give credence to rumours about him being demoralised.'' 

Milosevic has been indicted as a war criminal by a United Nations tribunal in 
The Hague. Moscow as a U.N. member, and permanent member of its Security 
Council, would be expected to hand Milosevic over if he arrived in Russia.