Russia criticised over Yugoslav visit

The tribunal wants Russia to explain the visit

Russia has come under fire over a secretive official visit to Moscow last week by the Yugoslav defence minister.

The minister, General Dragoljub Ojdanic, is wanted by the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia over alleged atrocities in Kosovo.

The Hague-based tribunal has said it is asking the Russian authorities for an explanation of the visit, which was revealed only after it had ended.

But the latest reports from Moscow quoted Russian military sources as saying that the general had not been arrested because Russia did not recognise his indictment.

'Violating obligations'

The general attended Russia's celebrations

The tribunal said that, if reports of the visit were confirmed, it would find it very worrying that a permanent member of the UN Security Council had been playing host to a suspected war criminal.

The United States has also expressed dismay over the visit and accused Russia of violating its obligations to the United Nations by failing to arrest General Ojdanic.

The general, who was indicted by the tribunal a year ago, visited Russia for five days last week, beginning on 7 May, the date of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration.

On 9 May, he stood in the crowd of foreign officials during a World War II military victory parade in Red Square.

Wanted

While in Moscow, General Ojdanic met his Russian counterpart, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, to discuss the situation in Kosovo.

Russia and Yugoslavia have a shared Orthodox heritage

The general, along with President Slobodan Milosevic, is among five figures from the former Yugoslavia who are wanted for the alleged murder, persecution and deportation of Albanians in Kosovo.

The indictments were issued during the Nato air campaign against the Yugoslav forces there in May 1999.

Russia-US summit

A US State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said there was no doubt the Russians knew that the minister was an indicted war criminal when they received him.

Mr Boucher said that US officials would raise their objections during talks to prepare for the summit next month between President Clinton and President Putin.

The US National Security Adviser, Samuel Berger, is due to arrive in Moscow on Thursday.

Responding to criticism over the visit, the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, said simply: "We will act in our own bilateral interests and those of European stability and security. If there are any questions about this, we shall answer them."