WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton and Boris Yeltsin, a critic of NATO's air war against Yugoslavia, broke no new ground during a telephone conversation Monday, sources said. Clinton, meantime, asked Congress to approve an additional $6 billion in "emergency" spending to help pay for the military operation and humanitarian aid for refugees.

"There are literally lives hanging in the balance," Clinton said. "I hope that the Congress, in the spirit of bipartisanship, will pass the package right away."

While Clinton did not cite a figure, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said it would be roughly $6 billion. Congressional sources said they expected the request to include $5.5 billion for the Pentagon and about $491 million in humanitarian aid.

Some congressional estimates say the figure could rise to $8 billion.

Clinton: Money needed for military and refugees

Clinton said the money he's requested is needed to:

"Ensure that we have the resources to sustain the air campaign until we achieve our goals, while maintaining our high level of general military readiness."

"Provide critical humanitarian assistance and relief to the hundreds of thousands of (Kosovo) refugees."

"Provide resources for nations in the region -- the neighbors of Kosovo -- who have suffered so much from the effects of this conflict." Clinton specifically cited the "enormous burden" the refugee exodus is placing on Albania.

Lockhart said the proposal would maintain the air campaign at "peak efficiency" through the federal government's current fiscal year, which ends on September 30.

Because the funding would be on an "emergency" basis, it would not require cutbacks, or offsets, in government spending.

U.S., Russia 'keep dialogue going'

Earlier, Clinton spoke for 45 minutes by telephone with Yeltsin, who has called for an immediate end to the bombing.

Clinton initiated the call, which White House officials described as a "chance to keep the dialogue going" with Moscow during a search for a solution to the crisis.

Yeltsin said he would not allow Russia to be drawn into the Kosovo conflict, the White House said.

"President Yeltsin did mention his decision earlier in the day not to send additional ships to the region and reaffirmed that he will not allow Russia to be drawn into this conflict," Lockhart told reporters.

"It was a quite constructive call," he said, although U.S. sources said there were no significant breakthroughs.

Lockhart noted that Yeltsin remains opposed to the NATO campaign, but that the U.S. and Russian leaders are still in agreement on the need for Yugoslav forces to withdraw from Kosovo.

Correspondents Wolf Blitzer and John King contributed to this report.

RELATED STORIES:

NATO bombs hit several Yugoslav cities
April 19, 1999
Five ethnic Albanians killed when vehicle hits land mine
April 18, 1999
U.S. holding Yugoslav officer as POW
April 16, 1999
Macedonia fears it could become KLA staging ground
April 16, 1999
Official Pentagon statement on captured Yugoslav soldier
April 16, 1999
Yugoslavia rejects U.N. peace plan for Kosovo
April 16, 1999

RELATED SITES:

Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites
  • Kosovo

Yugoslavia:
  • Federal Republic of Yugoslavia official site
      • Kesovo and Metohija facts
  • Serbia Ministry of Information
  • Serbia Now! News

Kosovo:
  • Kosova Crisis Center
  • Kosova Liberation Peace Movement
  • Kosovo - from Albanian.com

Military:
  • NATO official site
  • BosniaLINK - U.S. Dept. of Defense
  • U.S. Navy images from Operation Allied Force
  • U.K. Ministry of Defence - Kosovo news
  • U.K. Royal Air Force - Kosovo news
  • Jane's Defence - Kosovo Crisis

Relief:
  • Kosovar doctor helps refugees one at a time
  • Mercy International USA
  • Donations for Kosovo Refugees
  • International Rescue Committee
  • Unicef USA
  • Doctors Without Borders
  • World Vision
  • CARE: The Kosovo Crisis
  • InterAction
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  • International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Disaster Relief from DisasterRelief.org
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Kosovo Relief
  • ReliefWeb: Home page

Media:
  • Independent Yugoslav radio stations B92
  • Institute for War and Peace Reporting
  • United States Information Agency - Kosovo Crisis

Other:
  • Prayers for peace

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

LATEST HEADLINES:

Back to the top