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Russia Foreign Minister Flies to Belgrade
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov left for Belgrade on Friday and a leading member of parliament said he might have a meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Ivanov had flown to Belgrade on the orders of President Vladimir Putin but would not say what he would do in the Yugoslav capital. Opposition protesters seized key buildings in the capital on Thursday.
Yugoslavia's official Tanjug news agency said Ivanov was expected to arrive in Belgrade at 9^ US President Bill Clinton on Thursday called on Russia to help resolve the crisis by persuading Milosevic to step down after 13 years in power.
Russian news agencies quoted Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the lower house of parliament's (State Duma) foreign affairs committee, as saying Ivanov's task was to help calm the situation in Belgrade.
"Ivanov's visit to Belgrade will be very short. His task is to contain the situation as far as possible and assist in making sure it does not get out of control," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Rogozin as saying.
"A meeting with Slobodan Milosevic is not excluded if Milosevic agrees to it," Rogozin added. He said he had been informed of the planned visit by Ivanov himself.
Russia has been worried by a standoff between opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica and Milosevic. Opposition forces have taken over the streets of Belgrade and other towns.
Putin on Thursday reiterated his offer to mediate in the crisis and said he hoped Yugoslavia would remain united, end its international isolation and develop on a democratic path.
Rogozin, who has contacts with Kostunica's party, earlier this week met the Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow, Borislav Milosevic, who is Slobodan Milosevic's brother.
Russia's position in the latest crisis has been that only the courts can resolve the dispute between Kostunica and Milosevic over who won a September 24 presidential election.
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