Yeltsin vows to stop force in Kosovo

MOSCOW - President Boris Yeltsin vowed yesterday not to permit the use of force by NATO warplanes if the Kosovo peace talks - which have a deadline tomorrow - fail. Yeltsin said he had conveyed his views in writing and by telephone to President Clinton, but the White House said the two leaders had not communicated recently.

Yeltsin was making a rare public appearance for a one-day Kremlin summit with leaders of the European Union. He was asked to comment on U.S. plans to move 51 additional warplanes to Europe for possible air strikes against Serbian forces if the plan for a peacekeeping force in Serbia's separatist province of Kosovo is not accepted by noon tomorrow.

"I gave my opinion both in writing and on the phone to Clinton that it won't work," said Yeltsin. "This is all. This is our whole reply. We will not allow Kosovo to be touched." Yeltsin did not say how Russia might respond.

But soon after the ailing Russian leader spoke, the White House denied that he had been in touch with Clinton lately, either by telephone or letter. The last time the two presidents talked was at the funeral of Jordan's King Hussein 10 days ago, and their last significant phone call was on Dec. 30, when Yeltsin did communicate a similar message, according to White House officials.

"Russia's views on this issue are well known," said National Security Council spokesperson David Leavy. "In the end, NATO will have to make a decision on the use of force based on its own interests and the interest of the region and the interests of the international community. We'll manage the differences with Russia in a constructive way."

U.S. officials said they sought clarification from Russia after Yeltsin's remarks and were told they were taken out of context. They played down the significance of the confusion over communications between the two leaders. "Clearly he's recovering from some serious medical history," said an official who asked not to be named. "I wouldn't read too much into it. Everybody makes a misstep here or there."

Such a discrepancy about a high-level communication between Moscow and Washington is unusual. Yeltsin's spokesperson, Dmitri Yakushkin, said the Russian president later reiterated to the EU leaders "the thoughts that he had expressed in the message to Bill Clinton that he mentioned in front of the journalists." Yakushkin did not say whether it was a written or telephoned message.

Russia long has expressed support for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and repeatedly has warned against the use of force in Kosovo, the predominantly ethnic Albanian province where rebels are battling for independence from Serbia. Serbia and Montenegro compose present-day Yugoslavia.

02-19-99