by Dmitry Zaks
MOSCOW, March 25 (AFP)
President Boris Yeltsin warned Thursday that Russia had prepared �extreme measures� in response to NATO strikes against Serbia, which he said imperilled hopes for nuclear disarmament.
�Russia has a series of extreme measures linked to Kosovo saved up, but we have decided against using them yet,� the ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Yeltsin as saying.
�Morally, we are on a higher ground right now than America,� he was quoted as saying by Interfax during a meeting with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
Yeltsin further warned Washington it would be �held to account� for launching the strikes outside the framework of UN resolutions.
�NATO�s aggression against Yugoslavia is a gross mistake by American diplomacy and (US President Bill) Clinton, and in the end they will be held to account for it,� Yeltsin said according to Interfax.
The chairman of the NATO military committee, Klaus Naumann, told German radio Deutschlandfunk on Thursday that the alliance took Russia�s reaction �seriously.�
�We want to have security with Russia, and we have always said that we need partnership with Russia,� he said. NATO launched air raids against Serbia hours after Yeltsin and Clinton held what the Russian leader on Thursday described as a �very tough� telephone conversation.
Yeltsin, as cited by ITAR-TASS, said he told Clinton the strikes had jeopardized years of hard work in the spheres of nuclear disarmament by the two countries.
�I said that the two of us spent so much time working on security, the destruction of strategic weapons, and now all of this has been put in doubt,� the Russian president said.
Yeltsin added that his comments �greatly disturbed the American president.�
Moscow has bitterly opposed attacks against the Serbs, who have historic ties to Russia. It has withdrawn its NATO ambassador and Yeltsin on Thursday promised to cease all future cooperation with the western military alliance.
Russian media reported that the overnight raids claimed many civilian lives, while Belgrade�s Moscow ambassador, Borislav Milosevic, spoke of dozens of dead and injured civilians.
�According to non-official figures, there have been several dozen killed and a lot of wounded, above all women and children,� said Milosevic, who is also Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic�s older brother.
Neighboring Ukraine meanwhile said it was �deeply worried� by the airstrikes: �Ukraine believes it is unacceptable to use military force against a sovereign state without the approval of the UN Security Council, the only body tasked with taking decisions to bolster peace and security,� the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Gulnur ORAZYMBETOVA
ALMATY, January 25
(THE GLOBE)
�The Russian President Boris Yeltsin condemns the NATO aggression in Yugoslavia. Bombing the peaceful citizens of Kosovo and Chernogoria is a threat to global peace�, the Russia Ambassador declared in Almaty on March 25.
Valery Nikolaenko, the Russian ambassador to Kazakhstan announced, that only the Security Council and NATO are authorised to take decisions concerning what measures should be taken to support or restore the world�s safety.
The leaders of the Russian Federation are reconsidering their relations with NATO, as the organisation expressed its disrespect towards the fundamental traditions of international intercourse. The Russian diplomat stated that his country is taking decisive steps to immediately stop NATO�s military actions. The Russian P.M. Yevgenyi Primakov�s planned visit to the USA was abruptly cancelled. Russia has criticised NATO aggression at the latest session of Security Council. Russia recently recalled its chief military representative to NATO. Negotiations on the Russia-NATO partnership have been postponed. Finally, UN sanctions regarding Yugoslavia are under consideration.
Mr. Nikolaenko declared that if the conflict continues to escalate, his country will press NATO and the OSCE to peace negotiations. A military escalation of NATO will be a subject for discussions and consultations at the CIS summit to be held in April.
BEIJING, March 25 (AFP)
China has sided with Russia in opposing the NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia and led widespread Asian opposition to the operation.
�I am extremely concerned and worried,� China�s President Jiang Zemin said at a banquet in Milan, Italy, where he was visiting as part of a European tour.
Military action would not resolve the conflict in Kosovo province and risked �plunging the region into deeper turmoil,� he was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. Civilians would inevitably suffer, he added.
China�s Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said the NATO attacks on Yugoslavia were �unacceptable� and warned of unspecified �serious consequences,� Xinhua reported.
China has been joined by India, Vietnam, Cambodia and others opposing the strikes. Only Japan, among the main US allies in Asia, gave backing.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a new statement Thursday particularly naming the United States and again condemning the air strikes, which it said had caused �serious damage, death and injuries.�
�This is an unprecedented event and invasion pure and simple,� the overseas edition of the communist party People�s Daily said in a front-page editorial.
China has insisted the military action is illegal because it did not have the backing of the UN Security Council.
Analysts say China is beginning to take a harder line with Western countries, aligning itself more with the Russia on Kosovo in an attempt to counter US influence on the world stage.
The foreign ministry said it had consulted with Russia over the crisis.
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