Talks between Russia and the United States on Moscow's role in the Kosovo peacekeeping operation have been resumed in Helsinki and are expected to continue throughout the night.
Ealier today, Russian and American negotiators were reported to be close to agreement on the deployment of Russian troops in Kosovo. President Boris Yeltsin was insisting that Russia should have its own zone with the same status as those operated by NATO, but the American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, said that this was unacceptable. It is thought that the Americans are considering offering the Russians a zone of responsibility within a NATO sector.
Russia's Foreign Minister had said earlier that agreement had been reached on the command of peacekeeping troops in Kosovo and on the use of Pristina airport, now under Russian control. However, Igor Ivanov said that difficulties between the two countries, over the deployment of Russian forces in Kosovo, were still under negotiation.
Mr. Ivanov said that the two sides were trying to resolve questions on the difference between an area of responsibility and an actual peacekeeping zone for Russia. He added that he did not think it would be possible to have a peaceful settlement in Kosovo without the disarmament of the Kosovo Liberation Army. President Clinton told reporters in Paris he was optimistic Russia and the United States would reach agreement on the issue.
Last night, after nearly eight hours of discussions, the Russian Defence Minister, Igor Sergeyev, said that good progress had been made and that the discussions on "very complex issues" would continue. The American Defence Secretary, William Cohen, said that it had been a very productive day.
A British foreign office minister has meanwhile estimated that up to 10,000 ethnic Albanians may have been killed in massacres. United Nations war crimes investigators have arrived in the province; they have begun examining a police station in Pristina where torture apparatus has been found.
