U.S. pushes for Russian support of Yugoslavia's Kostunica

U.S. hopes events sway Russia

Clinton administration officials hoped Thursday's events would persuade the Russians to move away from the Milosevic regime.

They note that this is what one called "a very delicate moment" for Putin, who risks losing influence in the Balkans if Russia is perceived as being too close to Milosevic and the opposition ends up in power.

Putin's government has advocated the election dispute be resolved with the runoff Milosevic called for after election officials said he finished a close second.

But after Wednesday's attempt by the Yugoslav Constitution court to nullify "parts" of the election results, one senior administration official said, the Russians "realized that everything has changed."

Albright, Berger to call Russians

President Clinton has asked U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and U.S. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to telephone their Russian counterparts and urge them to make a public statement acknowledging that Kostunica won the September 24 election.

The Clinton administration has tried to walk a fine line in its conversations with the Russians, acknowledging their close ties to the Milosevic government and historic and cultural ties to Serbia.

"It's too simplistic to say that we can tell the Russians 'do this' and expect them to do it," said one senior official. "They don't have to do this."

Berger: Milosevic can't stay

A senior administration official said Clinton has intentionally let European officials speak more forcefully for Kostunica and against Milosevic because "the Europeans have more credibility in Belgrade."

National Security Adviser Sandy Berger says Milosevic should step down

With or without the Russians, Berger said he can't see how Milosevic can stay in power much longer.

On Thursday, the official Tanjung News Agency's decision to declare Kostunica president-elect was "one more sign the instruments of state power are slipping out of Milosevic's hands," Berger said.

"It is time for Mr. Milosevic to relinquish power and step down," Berger said.

Clinton received repeated briefings on the situation in Belgrade throughout the day Thursday but did not watch live television coverage himself. Senior advisers, including Berger, did watch coverage and gave Clinton written summaries, a senior official said.

Clinton said the Serbian people had made their opinion clear, and if the world community will "stand for freedom, stand for democracy, stand for the will of the people, I think that will prevail."

"We're seeing the pillars of his power beginning to unravel and I find it very difficult to see how he can reconstitute that power," Berger said.

Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon says there is no evidence that Milosevic has left Belgrade

Pentagon sees no military moves

At the Pentagon, U.S. military officials said they saw no evidence of mobilization or movement by Yugoslav military to put down any of the demonstrations.

"We have not seen any significant marshaling of forces or change of alert posture over the last few days," Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters.

Bacon also said there was no evidence Milosevic or his wife, Mirjana Markovic, had left Belgrade.

"There are certainly a lot of rumors," the spokesman said. "As far as we know, Milosevic and his wife are still in Belgrade."

As for Milosevic's fate should he step down, Berger said the U.S. government will continue to seek his prosecution for war crimes.

"He has been indicted by the war crimes tribunal," Berger said. "And he should be accountable for what he did over the last 10 years. But the issue immediately at hand is for him to step aside and get out of the way of the will of his people."