— MOSCOW’S GRASP:

The Kremlin’s reach may not extend as far as the Volga or the Urals, but Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov claims that events in Yugoslavia prove Russia is still a great power with a global role. Ivanov says “a Russian initiative” produced the agreement to engage the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Kosovo. … Russian rhetoric in opposition to threatened NATO air strikes against Serbia could hardly have been stronger. Political and military leaders (though not Prime Minister Primakov) spoke of “a very dangerous decision that brings us to the red line,” an “act of aggression against our brothers,” and “a direct threat to Russia’s interests.” Communist leader Zyuganov called a NATO attack on Yugoslavia “equivalent to a declaration of war against Russia.”