RUSSIA: FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER VEDRINE MEETS IGOR IVANOV (2) скачать в хорошем качестве

RUSSIA: FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER VEDRINE MEETS IGOR IVANOV (2)

(11 May 1999) Eng/Fr/Russ/Nat Both Russia and China have called on NATO to halt the air campaign against Yugoslavia while efforts to negotiate a solution continue. Returning to Moscow from Beijing, Russia's special envoy to Kosovo Viktor Chernomyrdin said both countries held basically the same approach to settling the crisis. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said NATO should respond positively to Yugoslavia's "goodwill" gesture of a partial troop withdrawal from Kosovo. But NATO leaders have greeted reports of the withdrawal with scepticism. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine arrived in Moscow poised for an important round of talks on Kosovo. Vedrine's visit to Moscow comes a day ahead of French President Jacques Chirac'c trip to Russia, where he is due to meet Russian President Boris Yeltsin. France has encouraged Moscow's efforts to find a solution to the crisis as NATO bombing of Yugoslavia logs a seventh week. Vedrine sat down for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to hear the latest information on Russia's diplomatic efforts. They met at the same time Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin took his diplomatic mission to Beijing to discuss the crisis with Chinese leaders. Russia and China have been united in voicing their outrage over NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on Friday. As NATO struggles to contain the political firestorm that has ensued, France was taking the initiative this week to keep Russia in NATO's good favour. After their talks, the two leaders held a joint news conference. Ivanov said NATO should demonstrate its support of efforts to resolve the crisis by halting the bombing campaign while negotiations continue. He told reporters he raised the point in his talks with the French foreign minister. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "I confirmed our position that an immediate end to the bombing is necessary or, at least, a pause in the bombing must be declared while talks continue." SUPER CAPTION: Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister Russia's Foreign Ministry welcomed Belgrade's announcement the day before of a partial withdrawal of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo. Ivanov called on NATO to respond to the announcement, which he painted as a 'goodwill gesture' on the part of Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic and an opening for peace efforts. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "If NATO fails to respond even to this goodwill gesture from Belgrade, then the alliance demonstrates both that it is unready for a political settlement and that it is following aims which are perhaps not spoken of in public in Brussels." SUPER CAPTION: Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister However, NATO was not so eager to welcome the news. At NATO's daily briefing, spokesman Jamie Shea said the alliance had no evidence such troops movements had taken place. And even if they had, NATO is sticking with demands for a full - not partial - withdrawal. NATO is demanding that Belgrade comply with that and other demands which the G-7 nations and Russia agreed on at recent talks in Bonn. Vedrine said the plan fell far short of what NATO said all along were the conditions for ending its military campaign. SOUNDBITE: (French) "Regarding declarations that have mentioned possible pauses in the bombing, they have always referred to the acceptance of the five conditions." SUPER CAPTION: Hubert Vedrine, French Foreign Minister France was joined by the U-S in its shuttle diplomacy efforts in Moscow. Talbott told reporters little upon arrival other than that he had a busy day ahead. SOUNDBITE: (English) Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...