KOSOVO: PRISTINA: BRITISH K-FOR CHIEF MEETS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART

(6 Jul 1999) Natural Sound

British K-FOR Commander Lieutenant Michael Jackson has met with his Russian counterpart General Yeftokovic at Pristina airport in Kosovo.

Yeftokovic had arrived in Pristina on Tuesday along with the first planeload of new Russian peacekeepers.

Their arrival comes just a day after NATO brokered an agreement with Moscow on their deployment.

General Jackson arrived by helicopter at Pristina's Slatina airport on Tuesday morning.

There he greeted his Russian counterpart General Yeftokovic who had arrived with the latest contingency of Russian peacekeeping troops on a transport plane earlier in the day.

Around 200 peacekeepers, 20 vehicles and 20 tonnes of other cargo will be transferred to Kosovo on a further three planes during the day.

It's hoped the presence of the Russian troops will go some way to easing the fears of the Serbs, who do not believe that K-FOR troops will protect them.

NATO had delayed the deployment of Russian troops over the weekend by getting Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria to refuse Moscow permission to fly through their airspace.

But following negotiations between Moscow and NATO on Monday, the role of Russian peacekeepers was agreed on and the troops were allowed to depart.

Under the new agreement, the Russian reinforcements can patrol in the northern sector of the area controlled by U-S troops, the northwestern part of the German area and a small piece of the French sector.

Once the remaining peacekeepers arrive, Russia will have 3-thousand-600 troops in Kosovo, including a contingent of 750 at the Slatina Airport near Pristina, which will be under Russian command.

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