[NYC-L] Russia Welcome

[Ahmetaj, Ramis]

I think you will find the article below funny.  I do.  It seems that Russia
has repaired all its own problems, and has found the resources to send
troops to fight in the Balkans.  Go figure.


Putin to use force in Macedonia?
Russia: NATO has turned Kosovo into 'a breeding ground of terrorism'

By Toby Westerman
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com 

Warning that the military clashes occurring in the small Balkan nation of
Macedonia could "spill over ... into the rest of the Balkan Peninsula,"
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter of support to Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica, promising diplomatic and military cooperation.


Putin's letter was delivered by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who is
currently visiting heads of state in the Balkans, the area of the world
known as the "powder keg of Europe."   Putin declared that "decisive
political action -- and, if necessary, the use of force" can avert a wider
Balkan war. He also said that Russia would be willing to join "Europe and
the United States in diplomatic -- and possibly military -- efforts" to end
the crisis in the region. 

Putin's remarks were carried by the Voice of Russia World Service, the
official broadcasting service of the Russian government.  On Monday, Ivanov
blamed NATO for the present instability in the region, stating that NATO had
turned Kosovo -- the nominally Yugoslav province which it has occupied since
the end of the 1999 air war -- "into a breeding ground of terrorism." 

New Talibans 
The prime minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Ljubco Georgievski, whose
second largest city is currently under attack by ethnic Albanian
separatists, declared in a recent press interview that the current round of
bloodshed in the Balkans is part of an "organized and long-planned
aggression."   

The ethnic Albanian guerrilla forces operating in Macedonia refer to
themselves as the National Liberation Army. Their numbers are estimated to
range from 500 to 2,000 fighters.  Many observers consider the fighters in
Macedonia to be linked to separatists in Kosovo and the south of Serbia, who
are bound in a common struggle for the eventual goal of a "Greater Albania."
The National Liberation Army's source of support is Kosovo, according to
Georgievski.  "Logistics, commanders, organization comes from Kosovo," he
said. Georgievski also claimed that former Kosovo Liberation Army personnel
are now engaged in the fighting in Macedonia.  Georgievski's remarks were
reported by Radio Bulgaria International, the official broadcasting service
of the Bulgarian government. 
While acknowledging NATO's political support for the government of
Macedonia, Georgievski echoed Ivanov's criticism of the alliance. 
"We want them [NATO] to clearly admit" that the current struggle in
Macedonia is an "overflowing of the Kosovo crisis."  "The international
community hesitates to admit that fact," Georgievski stated, "because it
would mean ... its policy has failed."   Georgievski also raised the specter
that past support of the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo has had the unintended
effect of establishing an Islamic fundamentalist, Taliban-like presence
close to the heart of Europe. 

NATO and the international community, according to Georgievski, have been
"fighting only to create a new type of Taliban. Western democracies created
new Talibans, and that ... [will] become one of Europe's future problems."
Negotiations are out of the question, according to Georgievski, stating that
his nation has "only one will -- terrorism to be destroyed once and for
all."  The regional powers of Greece and Bulgaria have already provided
military hardware to Macedonia. As to the use of foreign troops in the
conflict, Georgievski stated that he did not believe that Macedonia
presently needed foreign soldiers. He did acknowledge that if his nation did
require such aid, troops should be supplied from the international community
as a whole, not from an individual country. 

The probability of NATO or the international community coming to Macedonia's
aid with troops is, at present, slight. Both the EU and NATO are loath to
intervene in the Macedonian struggle, and there is even disagreement as to
the analysis of the strength of the ethnic Albanian forces in Macedonia.
According to the Radio Bulgaria report, U.N. special envoy for the Balkans
Carl Bildt expressed disagreement with NATO Secretary General George
Robertson over the numbers and organizational structure of the separatists.
While Robertson sees the separatists in Macedonia as a small, relatively
isolated group, Bildt warns of a "fairly well-organized" force that controls
"an entire region" of Macedonia.  Bildt also observed that Macedonia's army
is "badly armed," and heavily dependent upon the Albanian minority for
manpower. Approximately 40 percent of the Macedonian army is comprised of
ethnic Albanians.