(11 May 1999) Natural Sound
Russia's special envoy to Kosovo, Viktor Chernomyrdin, has described NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade as barbaric, during talks the Chinese leadership on Tuesday.
Chernomyrdin's sudden visit to China comes after Russia's President Boris Yeltsin talked by phone with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Monday to discuss a common strategy towards the Yugoslav crisis.
Meanwhile, diplomats from the United States and Britain maintain an uneasy presence in the Chinese capital, following a weekend of massive anti NATO demonstrations by students in protest for the alliance bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia's envoy in the Yugoslav crisis, was received by Zhu Rongji, China's Prime Minister, at his residence in Beijing on Tuesday.
Chernomyrdin criticized NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, but insisted it should not derail progress toward resolving the Kosovo crisis.
Chernomyrdin has led Russia's bid to find a diplomatic solution to the 7-week conflict.
The abrupt decision to send him for talks in Beijing, came after President Boris Yeltsin talked by phone with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
"The leaders of both states discussed in detail the situation in Yugoslavia and its further aggravation due to NATO's barbaric action, which caused casualties among Chinese citizens who served in Belgrade," said a statement from Yeltsin's office.
Embassy officials and a complement of Marines remained on Tuesday, for safety reasons, inside the U-S embassy compound, which was surrounded by hundreds of police in riot helmets.
Thousands of demonstrators marched past, pausing to shout slogans and throw stones as they did over the weekend.
The U-S State Department issued an advisory warning Americans to postpone travel to China until the situation stabilizes.
It ordered its diplomats to stay home and advised other Americans to do the same.
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