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DATE=10/04/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=RUSSIA / YUGOSLAVIA (L)

NUMBER=2-267453

BYLINE=SONJA PACE

DATELINE=MOSCOW

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: As Yugoslavia's elections crisis deepens, there is still no word from either Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic or his opposition rival Vojislav Kostunica whether they will accept a Russian offer to mediate. V-O-A's Sonja Pace reports from Moscow.

TEXT: Russian officials say they are still waiting for an answer. They insist their government's mediation offer is still on the table. It has been since last Friday when President Vladimir Putin invited Yugoslav President Milosevic and his opposition challenger Mr. Kostunica to come to Moscow.

The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, Dimitry Rogozin, told V-O-A the increasingly tense situation inside Serbia may actually prevent the two protagonists from coming to Moscow.

/// ROGOZIN ACT 1 - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///

Mr. Rogozin says there is concern the mass demonstrations and escalating tensions may get out of hand and lead to further provocations, for which the opposition might be blamed. That, he says, may make it impossible for Mr. Kostunica to leave Belgrade now. Mr. Rogozin also says President Milosevic may be reluctant to leave for fear his plane may be forced to land enroute to Moscow and he might be arrested.

The United States, for one, has said that if Mr. Milosevic were to come to Moscow, Russia would be expected to hand him over to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Mr. Rogozin says that request is difficult to understand.

/// ROGOZIN ACT 2 - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///

He says on the one hand, the West wants Mr. Milosevic to go, but on the other hand they do not give him many options. He says if this situation is to be resolved there must be room for political maneuvering.

Mr. Rogozin says talk about arresting Mr. Milosevic can only aggravate the situation.

/// ROGOZIN ACT 3 - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///

If we want civil war, he says, if we want to split the Balkans completely, if we want this problem to extend for many years and have American and NATO soldiers go and die there, then go ahead and arrest Milosevic.

Mr. Rogozin says a more flexible policy is needed. He says the main thing Russia can do is to give the people of Yugoslavia certain guarantees that they can decide their future for themselves.

/// ROGOZIN ACT 4 - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///

He says let Russia give them this chance without outside interference. Mr. Rogozin says it is important for Russia and the West to act together to bring this about through careful mediation.

NEB/SP/GE/JWH