(25 May 1999) Russian/Eng/Nat
U-S Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott is back in Russia working the diplomatic channels again to reach a consensus on Kosovo.
He has arrived for key meetings with Russia's Balkans envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin, as well as the European Union's mediator on the crisis, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari.
Talbott said he was eager to work with Russian officials who have demonstrated their resolve to find a political solution to the Yugoslav crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who will also meet with Talbott, reiterated Russia's calls for a halt to airstrikes at a joint news conference with his Indian counterpart, Jaswant Singh.
Some guests from the United States are more regular visitors than others at Moscow's Marriott Hotel.
For Strobe Talbott, the U-S deputy secretary of state, the hotel must be starting to feel like his second home.
Since NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia began on March 24, Talbott has regularly shuttled in and out of the Russian capital for meetings with the country's leadership.
Now he is part of a prominent trilateral push looking to find a way to end the conflict.
Talbott is in town to meet Russia's Kosovo envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin and Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, the official mediator of the European Union, on Wednesday.
Talbott, a Russian specialist and speaker, said he realises the U-S has to tread carefully as NATO continues its military operations against Yugoslavia.
But he expressed his appreciation for Russian efforts to mediate a solution that might bring the conflict to an end.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I'm well aware of the strains that the NATO airstrikes campaign have created both in US-Russia relations, NATO-Russian relations and indeed the strain that it creates here in Russia itself. That said, I think it's an entirely good thing that the Russian president, the Russian foreign minister, the presidential special envoy are putting their shoulders to the wheel working hard, as are we, to see how much we can do together."
SUPER CAPTION: Strobe Talbott, U-S Deputy Secretary of State
Russia has repeatedly called for NATO to suspend its air strikes to allow for a period of intense negotiations free of bloodshed.
But Talbott said the strikes must go on until Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic decides he will meet NATO's demands, which include pulling his troops out of Kosovo and allowing in an international armed force.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's absolutely clear to everybody, first and foremost I hope to Mr. Milosevic, what's required for the bombing to go into suspension, and those are the very well known conditions that have been set forth."
SUPER CAPTION: Strobe Talbott, U-S Deputy Secretary of State
Talbott wasn't the only foreign visitor meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday.
Indian-Russian relations were also on the agenda for Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who met with his Indian counterpart, Jaswant Singh.
The two countries drafted plans on Tuesday for a wide-ranging strategic partnership.
Russia was laying the groundwork for stronger ties with India, presumably in an attempt to counter America's growing influence on world affairs.
The two countries also hold shared opinions on the Kosovo crisis, which the two leaders discussed on Tuesday.
Singh described his talks as 'extremely productive' after a phone call to a vacationing President Boris Yeltsin on the Yugoslav conflict.
Ivanov discussed Kosovo at a joint news conference with Singh following their talks.
SOUNDBITE: (Russia with part English translation)
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