NO CHANGE IN MOSCOW’S KOSOVO POLICY.

Against the background of an intensifying Serb military campaign in Kosovo and a new warning from NATO that it is prepared to intervene to restore peace in the region, Russia yesterday continued to stand behind Yugoslav authorities in Belgrade. Speaking in the aftermath of an August 11 UN Security Council meeting, a Russian representative to the UN complained yesterday that the United States, Britain and certain other council members continue to blame Yugoslav authorities alone both for the violence in Kosovo and for the fact that peace talks have not started. Yuri Fedotov, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, also insisted that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has continued to fulfill the pledges he made with Russian President Boris Yeltsin during a June meeting in Moscow. (Itar-Tass, August 11)

The UN Security Council issued a statement on August 11 urging the Yugoslav government and Albanian separatists to seek “a final end to the violence” through negotiation. The council statement, which carried less force than a resolution would have, reflected divisions within the Security Council and particularly the continuing opposition of Russia and China to any council action that might penalize Yugoslavia. (New York Times, August 12)

KOKOSHIN CALLS FOR BETTER RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL.