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Putin invites Milosevic for resolving election dispute |
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October 3, 2000
MOSCOW, OCT 2 (UNB/AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his challenger Vojislav Kostunica to Moscow for talks on resolving Yugoslavia's election dispute, the Kremlin said Monday. Kostunica says he beat Milosevic outright in last week's balloting. But the Yugoslav president insists that Kostunica got less than 50 percent of the vote, and that a runoff is necessary. Moscow fears that the dispute might develop into a "direct confrontation in society, fraught with unpredictable consequences," Putin said in a statement released by his press service. "Russia, as a true friend of Yugoslavia, cannot remain indifferent at this crucial moment," the statement said. Putin said he was willing to receive both Milosevic and Kostunica in Moscow to "discuss ways of resolving the situation." So far, Putin has refused to commit himself to either side. Putin hasn't abandoned Milosevic, but indicated support for Kostunica in conversation with Western leaders this weekend. However, his statement on Monday referred to Milosevic and Kostunica as "candidates who entered the second round runoff" - an indication that he may be favoring Milosevic. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday that carefully dodged questions about whose side Moscow is on. "The most important thing now is to preserve civil peace and stability in the country, to avoid a dangerous slide toward confrontation," said the statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko. Yakovenko said that the decision by Yugoslavia's central electoral commission to hold a runoff was in accord with the constitution, which "envisages a two-stage system of electing a president." But he sad it wasn't Moscow's role to decide which side is right. "As is well known, a number of political parties in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia advocate the need to check the results of the first round, and deny the need for a runoff. "In my view, the counting of the vote and the checkup are, of course, an (internal) matter for Yugoslav society," Yakovenko said. Meanwhile, the leader of Russia's liberal Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky, urged the government to recognize Kostunica's victory. "Everything is clear when even the kind of authorities they have in Yugoslavia announce that the opposition has garnered 48 percent of the vote," Yavlinsky told a news conference on Monday. One of Milosevic's most ardent supporters in Russia, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, denied suggestions of vote-rigging, and claimed that Moscow's refusal to back Milosevic outright was "treacherous." |