The Campaign:
NATO mistook Chinese embassy in Belgrade for its real target, the Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement weapons warehouse; it's 800 yards away from the embassy. The attack in which four people died in what NATO chief Javier Solana called a "tragic mistake", is eighth time NATO has admitted causing civilian casualties since bombing started. NATO will continue its air campaign against Yugoslavia, he is adamant. US Defence Secretary William Cohen blamed "faulty information" for the incident and said NATO had quickly identified the source of the error and it would not be repeated. Media speculation that NATO could have been relying on information from a double agent was not confirmed. NATO also targeted Hotel Jugoslavia, used by paramilitary leader Arkan as a command centre.
China:
China is outraged over bombing of embassy and accused the United States and NATO of "war crimes". Thousands of students hurled bottles and debris and burned the American flag at the US embassy in Beijing in officially sanctioned outpouring of rage over weekend. Both British and American embassies besieged. Reaction in the street reminiscent of "bad days" of Mao's Cultural Revolution. Chinese authorities say it reflects strong patriotism of the people while advising protesters to "stay within the law". Television shows protest scenes from around China and even Hong Kong; and close-ups of those killed in the embassy.
Russia:
Russia, too, is outraged. Yesterday, at commemoration in Moscow to mark May 9th capitulation of Nazis to Soviet army in 1945, Yeltsin warned that the country's defences must be strengthened: Russia was still one of the world's great nuclear powers, he said - but without mentioning NATO directly.
He said Russia would continue to work to "put out the fire of war in Yugoslavia".
Diplomacy:
Thursday's accord between Western Powers and Russia (G8) on a joint Kosovo peace strategy badly shaken by the Chinese embassy bombing. Yeltsin's special Balkan envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin, in Bonn on Saturday on shuttle peace mission, said the NATO attack could worsen chances of ending the crisis. He conceded, nonetheless, that his weekend shuttle diplomacy, which included tripartite meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and UN special envoy for Kosovo, Carl Bildt, had brought a solution closer. Schroder told a news conference after 90 minutes of talks with Chernomyrdin that "attempts to find a political solution must and will continue with a high level of dynamism".
Chernomyrdin was to fly to Belgrade yesterday, but he said he would return to Moscow for planned meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. He will not fly to Belgrade today as the new conditions require "extra analysis", he said. He was, however, in telephone contact with Slobodan Milosevic last night. Chernomyrdin said he would probably fly to Helsinki to consult Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. "Only after that, when I will have concrete proposals in hand, can I leave for a personal meeting in Belgrade with Slobodan Milosevic," he said.
Refugees:
About 876,000 people have fled or been expelled from Kosovo since fighting began in March 1998, the UNHCR confirmed yesterday. Surrounding countries with substantial refugee numbers: Albania - 413,000; Macedonia - 228,000; Montenegro - 63,200; Bosnia - 18,500.
Quote of the weekend:
The United States, Britain, France "have broken with their traditional aspiration for freedom and have attacked Yugoslavia, and now Chinese territory in Yugoslavia, with the brutality of Hitler and other fascist hordes". - Slobodan Milosevic.