The NATO summit has ended with the 19 allies determined to implement an oil embargo and blockade against Yugoslavia while continuing the air strikes. The US said yesterday that once the embargo is in place it expects all countries, including Russia, to comply.
The NATO Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana, insisted there was "total unity" among the allies and dismissed reports of French reservations.
President Chirac of France had earlier warned that a NATO naval blockade of Yugoslavia could be seen as "an act of war" under international law if applied, for example, to Russian tankers. But Mr Solana said at a press conference yesterday Mr Chirac has agreed with the decision that the NATO military committee should work out how to apply the oil embargo.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, said on visit to Cairo, Russia abides by international law and not NATO resolutions. However, Mr Solana said on "Meet the Press" yesterday Russia's co-operation in the embargo was "not really necessary but it would be better if we had Russia with us . . ."
President Clinton yesterday spoke with President Yeltsin by telephone for an hour but the NATO oil embargo did not come up, according to a White House spokesman. Mr Clinton told the Russian president it was "constructive" that he was involved in the Kosovo situation and that he should "stay personally engaged".
Mr Strobe Talbott, deputy Secretary of State, will be in Moscow today to clarify the contacts between Moscow and Belgrade about ways to bring about an end to the NATO air strikes.
The Italian Foreign Minister, Mr Lamberto Dini, whose earlier criticism of the NATO air strike on Serbian TV headquarters was widely reported as an example of a crack in the facade of unity at the 50th anniversary summit, now says his initial condemnation of the attack was an "emotional reaction" and that there is no split among the allies. The British Foreign Minister, Mr Robin Cook, also played down reports in the media that the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, is having to put pressure on President Clinton to prepare for sending ground troops into Kosovo.
Mr Cook told a press briefing he would "indignantly rebut" any suggestion that Britain is "more aggressive" than the US on the ground troops question. All the allies have "exactly the same posi> ion" on this, he said.
The last day of the Washington summit included a meeting between the 19 NATO leaders and the seven "front line " states surrounding Yugoslavia. They were assured by President Clinton and the other leaders that they would be vigorously defended by NATO if attacked.
Seamus Martin adds from Moscow:
NATO's decision to "visit and search" ships which may carry oil to Yugoslavia and Russia's refusal to observe an oil embargo has caused a grave danger of sucking Russia into the conflict. Most of the oil imported by the Yugoslavs comes from Russia.
Russian politicians and media over the weekend have distanced themselves even further than before from NATO following the rejection of the peace efforts of the special envoy, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the announcement of the oil embargo.
Mr Chernomyrdin appeared annoyed at the swift rejection of his peace efforts by NATO countries. "I am the only person who knows what is in the proposals," he said, after the US national security adviser, Mr Sandy Berger, had thanked him for his efforts but told him not to to come to Washington to give details of the plan.
Agencies add:
The Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Vuk Draskovic, said yesterday he would like to see a UN peacekeeping force deployed in Kosovo.
"The United Nations is not regarded by any country as an occupying organisation," he told the private television station Studio B. "The UN flag is not for us an occupier's flag."
He said he expected Russia and the West to come to a compromise over Kosovo at the UN soon and he urged Belgrade to accept it. However, without mentioning Mr Slobodan Milosevic, Mr Draskovic hit out at "those who are ruling" the country and "lying to the people" by making them believe Russia would risk a third world war to defend Serbia.
The last bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad, in northern Serbia, was destroyed in a NATO raid overnight, Tanjug reported early today.