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June 14, 1999
Web posted at: 5:13 p.m. EDT (2113 GMT)

In this story: Presidents, deputies hold tele-summits Bosnia-like compromise considered More troops wait RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will meet their Russian counterparts in Helsinki, Finland, soon to try to resolve a dispute over Moscow's role in a Kosovo peace force.

In a telephone conversation Monday, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed that Cohen and Albright will meet with Russian Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov "in the next few days," Albright said.

In Pristina, Yugoslavia, on Monday, another round of talks between NATO and Russian military leaders failed to ease the impasse.

Moscow has insisted that its military force patrol its own sector and not serve under NATO command. NATO, however, has remained adamant that it divide Kosovo into five sectors controlled separately by U.S., British, French, Italian and German forces, and that all peacekeepers serve under the alliance.

The Russian force stunned NATO by arriving unexpectedly in Pristina ahead of alliance peacekeeping troops Saturday and taking control of the airport in the provincial Kosovo capital.

On Monday, Russian soldiers and vehicles were assembling in Bosnia to resupply Russian troops controlling the airport, Pentagon sources said Monday.

The troops told NATO commanders of the peacekeeping force in Bosnia that they will take food, fuel, water and equipment to about 200 of their fellow soldiers at the airport.

The Russians say the convoy, which include some 30 soldiers and 15 vehicles, will return to Bosnia after dropping off the supplies.

Pentagon officials, after initially saying the Russian troops were cooperating with British forces at the airport, conceded Monday morning that the Russians have blocked the access road with armored vehicles.

Presidents, deputies hold tele-summits

Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin said his country must play a "substantive role in the political settlement of the conflict in Kosovo."

Stepashin, quoted by Interfax news agency, said that role "includes carrying out the international peacekeeping operation in the region under the aegis of the United Nations."

The prime minister said he had talked by phone with U.S. Vice President Al Gore and discussed an outline for that role.

Stepashin was quoted in comments at the opening of a Security Council meeting in the Kremlin as saying "so far, only the first step has been taken on the road to achieving a durable and irreversible solution of the crisis in Kosovo."

Bosnia-like compromise considered

Despite the Pristina standoff, a compromise could be emerging. Russian and U.S. officials have worked out a "framework" to enable Russian troops to participate in the Kosovo mission, according to a Clinton administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On CNN's "Late Edition," U.S. Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested Sunday that Russian troops could have a "zone of responsibility" within one of the sectors, much like an arrangement in Bosnia.

The plan could allow the Russians to serve under a general from a non-NATO country, perhaps Finland, who would in turn report to the alliance, sources told CNN.

Shelton said the Russians will likely contribute about 2,000 troops to the peacekeeping mission, known as KFOR, which is expected to total about 50,000 troops.

More troops wait

Russia has more peacekeeping troops ready to move into Kosovo, if political leaders decide to send them.

The Ministry of Defense has paratroopers and infantry ready at four Russian military bases -- Ryazan, Ivanovo, Yula and Pskov. The have been on four-hour readiness notice for several days.

Russian troops are still in control of the Pristina airport

However, no political decision has been made to send them, according to Russian paratrooper Cmdr. Georgy Shpak, quoted by Interfax news agency.

Another complication is unforeseen restrictions on the air corridor Russia would use to move in its peacekeepers. East European countries, especially Hungary, have refused to grant clearance for such flights.

Sources in the Russian military have told Interfax those countries are "violating international standards to please NATO."

The KFOR peacekeepers began deploying in Kosovo on Saturday, after the Serb-dominated Yugoslav federation agreed to withdraw its military presence from the province to end more than two months of NATO airstrikes.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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