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Russian President Urges Peaceful Solution to Yugoslav Disturbances
Russian President Vladimir Putin said late Thursday that Moscow "is ready to offer a helping hand to Yugoslavia," where "the situation is very serious now."
In a statement released shortly after his return from his visit to India, Putin urged all political forces in Yugoslavia to be guided by the aim of seeking a peaceful settlement of the situation in the interests of the people, the Itar-Tass news agency reported early Friday.
"All the Russian people are closely watching... the tragic development of the situation in friendly Yugoslavia," Putin said.
In Belgrade, supporters of opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica have reportedly taken control of the federal parliament building and the state television station.
Meanwhile, Tanjug, the Yugoslav state news agency, has announced that "it is with the people... and it will report entirely on the basis of professional standards, truthfully and objectively, in accordance with the basic interests of the people and the country," Tass reported in a dispatch from Belgrade.
"The political confrontations has reached the extreme line, and all that is going on there is direct violence," Putin said. "This must not be allowed. All controversial issues in a democratic society must be settled in a peaceful way in the interest of the people."
"Any other conduct would not contribute to the solution of the tasks facing the country. We call on all political forces in Yugoslavia to be guided by these considerations," the Russian president said.
"Russia has always been with Yugoslavia both in the years of hard ordeals and in joyful periods," Putin said. "We are ready to make a contribution so that Yugoslavia found a way out of the present situation and international isolation."
Shortly after his return from India, Putin held a meeting of his top aides at the Sheremetyevo-1 international airport to discuss the situation in the Balkan country.
Putin said he had "stayed in touch practically all the time with both Yugoslav official authorities and the opposition" and that Foreign Minister Ivanov has repeatedly contacted leading Yugoslav politicians.
The current disturbances in Yugoslavia followed a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court that annuls the results of the September 24 presidential elections.
The Central Election Commission earlier announced that a run-off would be held soon as neither incumbent President Slobodan Milosevic nor opposition leader Kostunica had collected the required 50 percent vote. The opposition claimed that it had garnered enough votes to win the elections.
In a letter to Duma speaker Seleznyov earlier, Putin said "the results of the presidential elections in Yugoslavia must be determined strictly within the law and on the basis of results backed by documents," Putin said. "The new Yugoslav president must be elected in a democratic manner and rely on the clearly expressed will of the majority."
Putin had invited Milosevic and Kostunica to Moscow "to find a way out of this critical situation," an invitation so far unanswered by either of them.
"This seriously bothers me as the situation is becoming worse each day," Putin said.
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