Clinton and Yeltsin are to continue their dialogue Monday over the phone

April 19, 1999
Web posted at: 8:38 a.m. EDT (1238 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton and Boris Yeltsin were due to confer by telephone on Monday in hopes of seeking an end to NATO's strikes against Yugoslavia, but the possibility of a breakthrough on U.S.-Russian differences seemed slim.

Clinton was scheduled to make the call, which White House officials described as a "chance to keep the dialogue going" with Moscow during a search for a diplomatic solution.

The Russian president was expected to repeat his demand that bombing be stopped, while White House aides said Clinton will restate NATO's rationale for airstrikes, now in their 27th day. No diplomatic breakthrough was likely.

Once the bombing stops, "(Yugoslav President Slobodan) will sit down at the negotiating table," Yeltsin said on Monday, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Another Russian news agency, ITAR-Tass, quoted Yeltsin as saying Russia was ready to act as middleman in future peace negotiations.

The United States and its NATO allies say there can be no end to bombing until Milosevic ends his attempt to empty the Serb province of Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian population.

Yeltsin, whose earlier attempts to mediate in the conflict have failed, met top officials on Monday, including Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and newly appointed envoy to Yugoslavia, Viktor Chernomyrdin, to work out Russia's strategy.

Prior to his phone call with the U.S. president, Yeltsin warned the West on Monday he would not allow it to defeat Milosevic and establish control over Yugoslavia.

"Bill Clinton hopes that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will capitulate, give up the whole of Yugoslavia. We will not allow this. This is a strategic place," Yeltsin said, according to ITAR-Tass.

Interfax quoted Yeltsin as saying Russia would exercise "restraint" in handling the Kosovo crisis, but it would maintain close ties with Milosevic. It quoted him as saying: "We simply cannot ditch Milosevic. We want to embrace him as tight as possible."

Russia has bitterly denounced NATO airstrikes but U.S. officials say Moscow has given both public and private reassurances it will not get drawn into the conflict militarily.

Correspondent John King contributed to this report.

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