World

Putin And Kostunica Meet In Moscow

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 27, 2000 / 2:24 PM EDT / CBS

Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica, who officially took office on Oct. 7, came out of his first official meeting with Russian President Vladimir on Friday with power of another sort. Putin promised Moscow will soon resume supplying energy to Yugoslavia and called on the international community to help revive Belgrade's shattered economy.

Putin also helped boost Kostunica's political power agreeing in the joint statement that Kosovo must remain part of Yugoslavia.

Putin told his counterpart that, "Russia will re-establish energy deliveries to Yugoslavia - including gas supplies - which were interrupted this year." Russia had cut off gas supplies because of Yugoslavia's $400 million unpaid gas bill. There were no details on the new agreement. But the two agreed to set up a group of experts to discuss "immediate help in gas deliveries."

Russian gas giant Gazprom had agreed to restructure that debt on the condition that the Balkan state pay for new supplies with cash but Yugoslavia reneged on the deal.

Kostunica's political future depends in part on being to improve his country's standard of living in the wake of punishing international sanctions and with winter just around the corner, his government needs to supply heating and electricity quickly to stave off discontent.

For his part, Kostunica, said, "It is necessary that there will be a significant Russian presence in the Balkans."

Moscow had been slow to withdraw its support from former President Slobodan Milosevic, who had fiercely contested Kostunica's election Russia had been the sole European power that hesitated to recognize Kostunica.

But Putin congratulated Kostunica on his bloodless defeat of Milosevic whose brother, Borislav, remains Yugoslavia's ambassador to Moscow although he was recalled for consultations several days before Kostunica's visit.

"Due to your efforts, restraint, and aptly chosen tactics, Yugoslavia has managed to get out of the difficult situation without bloodshed," ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.