Moslem leader blasts Russia's Bosnia stance

JAKARTA (JP): The Committee for Moslem Solidarity yesterday criticized Russia for opposing the efforts to lift a United Nations arms embargo against the besieged Bosnians.

Committee chairman Lukman Harun said Russia's attitude only confirms that the country is behind the Serbs' aggression in the former Yugoslav republic.

"Russia's stand only serves to confirm their support for the Serbs' aggression in Bosnia," Lukman said.

Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev on Tuesday blasted U.S. senators' recent decision demanding that the United Nations Security Council lift the arms embargo to allow for Bosnians to arm themselves and defend against the Serbs.

Lukman said Kozyrev's remarks suggest that Russia is backing the "ethnic and religion cleansing" campaign by Serbs in Bosnia.

He said the Serbs have also been receiving arms supplies from their ethnic kin in Russia, breaking the balance of power and leaving the Moslems virtually defenseless. (11)