Russia's special envoy to the Balkans, Victor Chernomyrdin, is travelling to Rome this evening on the latest stage of his efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo crisis. Mr Chernomyrdin said some progress had been made during talks in Bonn with the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, but a breakthrough is not imminent. In Moscow, the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, and the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said they both wanted a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
After today's meeting in Bonn the two men said differences were narrowing, but that a breakthrough is still some way off. They stuck to their respective positions regarding the nature of any peacekeeping force to be sent to Kosovo. Viktor Chernomyrdin said Russia believed an international UN peacekeeping force - including Russian participation - was needed. Mr Schroeder repeated the NATO position that alliance troops had to make up the bulk of the force. Following his meeting with United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan in Moscow this morning, Mr Chernomyrdin said he was taking with him concrete proposals for ending the conflict, but he gave no details.
Meanwhlie, NATO has admitted that one of its missiles “unintentionally” strayed and landed in a suburb of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, destroying a house. It said the missile was fired after Yugoslav radar locked on to one of its warplanes. The alliance's spokesman, Jamie Shea, said Bulgaria nonetheless fully supported NATO's campaign. NATO continued its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia overnight, hitting areas around Belgrade and Novi Sad as well as targets in Montenegro.
The American House of Representatives has voted to refuse funding for the deployment of ground troops in Kosovo unless President Clinton first seeks congressional approval. The move is being seen as a warning by the Republican-controlled house, which is worried about the possibility of the conflict in the Balkans escalating. Republicans are still angry about not being consulted before the NATO bombing campaign began five weeks ago.
In a separate development, the Irish journalist Maggie O'Kane has been expelled from Yugoslavia. She writes for the British newspaper, the Guardian. It is not known why she was expelled, but her interviews with opposition figures have been published in recent days. She was told today in Belgrade that she had to leave, and was trying to arrange overland travel to Hungary.
