Despite Gorazde, U.S. backs Russian diplomatic role<\/p>\n
By Carol Giacomo<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuter): Despite the humiliating debacle of
\nGorazde, the United States says Russia's Bosnia diplomacy has
\nbeen \"careful and appropriate\" and it seems committed to support
\nMoscow's need to reassert a prominent role on the world stage.<\/p>\n
But Washington henceforth may be more wary about trusting in
\nMoscow's ability to deliver on a deal -- at least with Bosnian
\nSerbs, who share an ethnic kinship with the Russians but seem
\nonly marginally receptive to their influence.<\/p>\n
After Serbs Sunday reneged on yet another ceasefire pledge on
\ntheir way toward seizing Gorazde, a strategic Moslem enclave in
\neastern Bosnia, Secretary of State Warren Christopher accused
\nthem of engaging in a \"tangle of lies.\"<\/p>\n
Asked why NATO and the United States fell for the deceit, he
\ntold reporters Monday: \"The Russians were the principal
\ninterlocutors. I think we have some reason to have confidence
\nbased upon what had happened in Sarajevo. But certainly the
\nconfidence was ill-placed here.\"<\/p>\n
Aides insist Christopher meant confidence was ill-placed in
\nthe Serbs, not the Russians.<\/p>\n
\"I think that the secretary is satisfied that the Russian
\ngovernment ... took very careful and appropriate diplomatic steps
\nto attempt to address this, dealing directly with the Bosnian
\nSerbs,\" spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters.<\/p>\n
After NATO threatened Serbs with air strikes in February if
\nthey did not put heavy weapons under UN control, Russia rushed in
\nto negotiate a deal that met the alliance ultimatum and lifted
\nthe Serb siege of Sarajevo.<\/p>\n
Based on this success, and the administration's close ties
\nwith Russian President Boris Yeltsin's government, it might have
\nbeen expected that Washington would alert Moscow before NATO last
\nweek bombed Serb targets around Gorazde.<\/p>\n
When that did not happen, Russian leaders, including Yeltsin
\nand Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, erupted in anger.<\/p>\n
The two governments had been working together for weeks on
\nefforts to negotiate an end to the war between Serbs, Croats and
\nMoslems, and Russia felt betrayed.<\/p>\n
Yeltsin has been under extreme nationalist pressure to back
\nSerbs and hence NATO military action against Russia's kinsmen --
\nwhich as an unintended consequence underscores the decline of
\nRussian military power -- remains a bitter pill.<\/p>\n
The United States defended the lack of direct notification by
\nWashington, saying Russia had a representative on the staff of
\nthe UN commander in Bosnia and should have been aware of what was
\ngoing on.<\/p>\n
But after the strikes, Serbs would only talk to Russian
\nspecial envoy Vitaly Churkin so much of the diplomacy was in his
\nhands and Washington backed off on more aggressive use of force
\neven as Serbs marched on toward Gorazde.<\/p>\n
Some experts complained that the United States allowed Russia
\na veto over its policy.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials admit the use of NATO force was restrained last
\nweek while diplomatic efforts to end the siege of Gorazde were
\nunderway and that alliance air strikes might have deprived Serbs
\nof that victory.<\/p>\n
But, argued one official, \"there is a possibility that if we
\nhad acted more forcefully before the Russians exercised their
\ndiplomatic options, they might have come unhinged on this,\"
\nmeaning it would cause more serious problems for Yeltsin's
\ngovernment and for Russia's ties with the West.<\/p>\n
Darker minds suggest Moscow may have deliberately strung out
\nnegotiations so Serbs could take Gorazde.<\/p>\n
But administration officials insist they do not feel misled by
\nRussia, say Moscow desperately wants the Bosnian war ended and
\ndiscount suspicions Russia is trying to take Cold War-style
\nadvantage of the conflict.<\/p>\n
Patrick Glynn of the American Enterprise Institute, agrees.
\n\"Clearly they want to establish their credentials as a world
\npower and to demonstrate their ability to protect an ally (but)
\nthe Russians do not have to be feared in this situation.\"<\/p>\n
The Gorazde experience reinforces how far the United States
\nstill has to go to \"learn how to calibrate diplomacy with the
\nRussians,\" one U.S. official said.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't hurt when they have a situation like this where
\nthey can play an enormously useful role to let them play that
\nrole and acknowledge they deserve credit for it,\" he said, but
\nthere will be moments of rivalry that the two sides still have to
\nlearn how to balance.<\/p>\n
-30-<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/despite-gorazde-us-backs-russian-diplomatic-role-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }