Peace Plan Highlights | Photo Gallery | Strike Assessment | News Video Archive | Strike at a Glance | Who's Who | Roots of the Conflict | Story Archive | Links | Discussion

Clinton: 'We look forward to working with Russia'  MILITARY PLAN:

June 12, 1999
Web posted at: 10:26 p.m. EDT (0226 GMT)

In this story: Cohen: 'It certainly was precipitous' Gore talks with Stepashin, Albright with Ivanov RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Clinton administration said Saturday that the surprise march of Russian troops into Kosovo ahead of NATO peacekeepers was not militarily significant, as top U.S. officials and Russian leaders discussed the role of the 200-person unit in the Serbian province.

President Bill Clinton, placing a positive perspective on the confusion in Kosovo, said the United States welcomed Russia's participation in maintaining peace.

"We look forward to working with Russia," Clinton said at a commencement ceremony at the University of Chicago.

Clinton planned to talk about the role of Russian peacekeepers in a phone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Sunday morning.

Defense Secretary William Cohen said he did not know why Russian troops moved into Pristina before dawn Saturday, although it could have been the result of confusion or "simply over anxiousness on the part of the military commanders."

He said it was a sign that Russians are eager to help out and an opportunity for NATO and Russia to reprise a successful joint peacekeeping operation next door in Bosnia.

Cohen: 'It certainly was precipitous'

"It certainly was precipitous action leading to some confusion," but the situation should be resolved soon, Cohen said at a Pentagon news conference.

"There's no particular glory in arriving in Pristina with 200 troops. To say that 'we're here first,' that's not the essence of what this peacekeeping mission is all about. We would like for them to participate and whether they arrive a few hours earlier or later really is not a significant factor," Cohen said.

Cohen said he looked forward to "the participation by any country" in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission, "as long as they accept the principles of command."

Gore talks with Stepashin, Albright with Ivanov

Vice President Al Gore spoke for one hour Saturday with Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin. "They had a constructive conversation but both agreed not to disclose details of the discussion," a Gore spokesman said.

Administration officials were unpleasantly surprised when Russian troops rolled into the capital of Kosovo after repeated assurances from Moscow that they would not enter the province before a NATO-led peacekeeping force.

But after a flurry of late-night talks Friday, U.S. diplomats said they were satisfied with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's claim that the deployment was an "unfortunate" mistake and waited for the forces to leave Pristina.

Deputy Secretary of State Talbott met with Ivanov Saturday, but without conclusive results.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who spoke with Ivanov by phone Saturday, said Russia will not have its own sector in Kosovo, as do the United States and NATO allies Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

"We want to avoid anything that looks like there is a partition," Albright said aboard a flight home from the Balkans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.