Primakov on peace mission to Belgrade

In Belgrade, Primakov will hold talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic with the purpose of ending NATO-led air strikes and breaking the deadlock over Kosovo, he said. However, he gave no details about Russia8217;s latest peace initiative. He also made it clear that Primakov8217;s visit to Belgrade was not coordinated with NATO. 8220;We don8217;t need permission from anyone to send this top level delegation,8221; Ivanov said in response to a question.

It is still not clear whether Primakov will travel further, possibly to one or two more European capitals, or even to New York. It woulddepend on the outcome of the talks in Belgrade, Ivanov pointed out.

The Kremlin decided to send Primakov to Belgrade after Borislav Milosevic, Yugoslavia8217;s ambassador to Moscow and the President8217;s brother, hinted during an interview on Russian television on Sunday that the President was ready to welcome Kremlin8217;s special envoy for talks. Also on Sunday, the Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister said Belgrade was ready to resume talks on Kosovo, when NATO stopped bombings.

In the past Russia has used its influence in Belgrade to persuade the Yugoslav President to seek a compromise as the two countries are Slavic and follow the Orthodox Christian faith. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied media reports that the peace mission of Russian reformist leaders to Belgrade was officially sanctioned.

General Leonid Ivashov, Defence Ministry spokesman, told mediapersons that the general staff had instructed its peacekeeping troops under the UN in Bosnia not to take orders from the NATO command, as Russia hasalready broken all its relations with the alliance.

PTI reports from paris: NATO warplanes hammered ground Serbian military targets during the second phase of air strikes even as tens of thousands of refugees were fleeing Kosovo and pouring into neighbouring countries. French television reports said NATO aircraft pounded Serbian ground forces for the first time in central Kosovo, destroying four tanks. An airport in Nis city was attacked by NATO aircraft, killing one soldier and injuring five others. 8220;What we want to do is to stop the ethnic cleansing, the violence undergoing at present in Kosovo,8221; NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said. 8220;A quarter of the population has been displaced.8221;

Border posts closed
Tirana: The Yugoslav army on Monday closed the three main border points used by refugees to cross by into Albania to flee the violence in Kosovo, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE said here. The move stranded thousands of Kosovars waiting to crossinto Albania, OSCE spokesman Andrea Angeli told AFP. Some 70,0000 Kosovars have already arrived in the region of Kukes on the border since Saturday and a 8220;river8221; of other refugees was still on the move, Angeli said.