YELTSIN, LUKASHENKA DEFEATED OVER SERBIA.

YELTSIN, LUKASHENKA DEFEATED OVER SERBIA.

Russia and Belarus went into the summit determined to push through an anti-NATO and pro-Serbian resolution, even if it meant violating CIS rules of procedure. During the pre-summit negotiations over the agenda, a number of countries–including Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan–had exercised their right to veto the proposed discussion of a joint statement on the Serbia-NATO conflict. As a result, the item did not even figure on the official agenda. Nevertheless, the Kremlin and Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on the eve of the summit that Russia and Belarus would raise the issue regardless of the official agenda, and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov inexplicably expressed his “confidence that the Presidents will condemn NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia.” A similarly confident Belarusan President Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared that “Boris Nikolaevich and myself expect the great majority of the Presidents to support our initiative and adopt the statement on the situation in the Balkans.” Following the summit, however, Lukashenka complained that “all but one” of the presidents had spoken against the initiative (Itar-Tass, RIA, April 2-3).

THREE COUNTRIES CONFIRM INTENT TO QUIT COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY.