German Leader, Russian Envoy Align to Push for Peace Effort

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder appeared Thursday to have won Russia’s cooperation in the search for peace in the Balkans, with Moscow’s newly appointed envoy in the Yugoslav crisis signaling interest in a German peace proposal.

Schroeder’s plan seeks to mend fences--gingerly--with Russia without weakening NATO terms for an end to airstrikes, which Russia has vehemently opposed. Schroeder said his government is already in close contact with Russian leaders and hopes for a visit “very soon” by Moscow’s special ambassador for Yugoslavia, Viktor S. Chernomyrdin.

The appointment of Chernomyrdin, who enjoyed cordial ties with Western leaders during his five years as prime minister, signaled a change in strategy by Russia, and Chernomyrdin confirmed the new tone Thursday by swiftly embracing Schroeder’s proposal.

“The initiative put forward by Germany is worth supporting,” Chernomyrdin said after meeting with the German ambassador to Russia. “The idea of stopping hostilities for 24 hours and taking this time to find points of agreement . . . I think all of this deserves attention.”

Schroeder has made clear that the proposed suspension of airstrikes could start only after Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had begun withdrawing his forces from Kosovo.

“Only in this order would it be possible for NATO to suspend military measures and open the way for a political solution,” Schroeder reiterated Thursday in a speech to parliament in Bonn.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, chief architect of the plan that sources in his office say was drawn up in consultation with NATO allies, also clarified that Milosevic would have to pull out its troops from Kosovo “in a verifiable manner” for NATO to consider a halt to the bombing, which began March 24.

The six-point German proposal met with little enthusiasm in Washington and at NATO headquarters in Brussels when it was unveiled Wednesday, just as the Western allies were struggling to deal with the public image disaster of having unwittingly bombed a truckload of refugees in Kosovo. But the main target of the German initiative--Russia--was listening and apparently watching for a chance to get back in the peace process.

Chernomyrdin said Russia has reservations about parts of the peace proposal but wants to cooperate with the West.

“We shouldn’t compete against each other,” Chernomyrdin said. “I think we should work out a joint position together. There is more than enough work to go around. The tragedy unfolding today in the Balkans is too great. We should resolve this situation before we divide up the credit.”

Angered by NATO’s bombardment of Yugoslavia, Russian nationalists had been threatening to organize volunteer fighters to help the Serbs, whom many Russians regard as Slavic brothers. Politicians have sent aid shipments, and a Russian intelligence vessel has been deployed to the Adriatic Sea to monitor the conflict.

Chernomyrdin made clear in an interview with the Moscow Kommersant Daily newspaper that he opposes any Russian intervention on behalf of Belgrade. He urged Russians to “keep our heads cool, not clench our teeth, and to keep on talking.”

While Russian anger with the West remains high, some politicians realize that the Yugoslav conflict presents them with an opportunity to show their influence with fellow Slavs and Orthodox Christians in Yugoslavia.

“Russia’s stance on how to end the conflict has shown the West that Russia--an erstwhile superpower which most considered nonexistent--is still alive,” said Viktor A. Kremenyuk, deputy director of the USA-Canada Institute in Moscow. “After a series of ignominious diplomatic defeats, Russia has got a chance to consolidate its position and improve its standing among the most influential powers.”

Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin, who appointed Chernomyrdin, suggested that if anyone can wrangle a compromise from Milosevic, Chernomyrdin can.

“He’s a strong person, smart, with good contacts in the West,” Yeltsin said on national television. “Chernomyrdin knows Milosevic well and can talk with him like no one else.”

Russia’s participation in the NATO-led Stabilization Force, SFOR, in Bosnia-Herzegovina has proved vital to maintaining peace in the former Yugoslav republic since its 1995 peace agreement, and Germany had been pushing Western allies to get the Russians engaged in the search for peace in the rump Yugoslavia as well. The German plan envisions U.N. “authorization” for a postwar peacekeeping force in Kosovo--something Russia must agree to, because it has veto power in the U.N. Security Council.

“I am counting on Moscow to become even more closely associated with the efforts of the international community to find a peaceful solution,” Schroeder said after hearing Chernomyrdin’s reply to his plan.

Looking ahead to a still-faraway peacetime, Schroeder called for a “Marshall Plan for the Balkans”--a repayment by Germany and the European Union for U.S. aid that allowed a defeated Germany to build a strong democracy and vibrant economy from the rubble of fascism after World War II.

“As did Germany in 1945, Yugoslavia needs democratization, economic development and the construction of a genuinely civil society,” Schroeder said.

He conceded that such a postwar effort would be costly but insisted it would be a wise investment in stability on the Continent.

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Williams reported from Berlin and Reynolds from Moscow.