Russia's special envoy to the Balkans has warned NATO against mounting any kind of sea blockade in the Adriatic as a means of stepping up economic pressure on Belgrade. As leaders of the Alliance continue planning their military strategy against Yugoslavia, Victor Chernomyrdin said that the problem of Kosovo could not be solved by a sea blockade or by air-strikes. He said that he is still planning talks with NATO leaders to press for a political settlement.
The Russian Foreign Minister has said that his country hopes the crisis over Kosovo does not escalate into a ground war. Speaking during a visit to Cairo for talks on the crisis in the Balkans, Igor Ivanov said that his country would continue to supply oil to Yugoslavia despite NATO's decision to implement an oil embargo on Belgrade.
Earlier, NATO officials say they are drawing up plans on how to search ships in the Adriatic to prevent oil and other supplies reaching the armed forces of President Slobodan Milosevic in Yugoslavia. Mr. Ivanov was speaking during a visit to Cairo for talks with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak focusing on the crisis in the Balkans.
The oil embargo is one element of a 17-point statement on Kosovo issued at NATO's 50th anniversary summit in Washington. The Nato aircraft in action overnight attacked the city of Nis in southern Serbia. The state media reported that 26 missiles exploded in just half an hour. The authorities said that a water plant, as well as rail and power installations, were hit. It has been reported that missiles also hit Serbia's second city Novi Sad, and the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
