RUSSIA MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATO ACTIONS IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000797

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV YI BK SR KV RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATO ACTIONS IN
FRY

REF: BELGRADE 246

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) On March 24, Russia marked the tenth anniversary of
NATO's 1999 NATO bombardment of FRY with an official
statement, a State Duma special resolution, political
rallies, and extensive media coverage. The MFA called for an
assessment of NATO's actions and called for the adoption of
Medvedev's European Security Treaty proposal. The Duma's
special resolution denounced the 1999 air campaign and March
17, 2004 destruction of Serbian sites in Kosovo. The Duma's
International relations chair called the actions of the
"West" hypocritical and expressed the hope the International
Court of Justice would overturn Kosovo's declaration of
independence. In highlighting the anniversary, Russian
officials and politicians addressed a domestic audience
seeking to repudiate the "failures" of the Yeltsin
administration with a demonstration of Russia's ability to
counter NATO, and addressed the international community by
arguing that NATO's actions in 1999 formed part of the basis
for Medvedev's European Security Treaty and laid the ground
work for Georgia's actions in South Ossetia. End Summary.

Official Statements
--------------


2. (U) MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko released a statement
on March 24, calling for a "sober assessment" of NATO's
actions in 1999. The statement also alleged that "Calls to
let sleeping dogs lie that one hears in the West today are
caused by one thing only - an urge to shamefacedly hide the
blatant violation of the norms of international law that has
become obvious, counting on military force and encouraging
separatism." He argued that Medvedev's European Security
Treaty proposal would "fix" the principles of relations
between states in the region.


3. (U) The State Duma adopted a special resolution on March
20, denouncing both NATO's 1999 air campaign and the March
17, 2004 events in Kosovo that led to the alleged destruction
of Serbian churches and monasteries, and calling for Kosovo
and Metohia to remain part of Serbia until the parties
negotiated a settlement. In a statement to the press,
Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Duma Committee on
International Affairs, said that "Kosovo separatism had
already proved to be a headache for those external sponsors."
Arguing that the recognition of Kosovar independence
undermined the values the "West" allegedly defends, he
expressed the hope that the International Court of Justice
would overturn Kosovo's unilateral declaration. Russian
media also carried a March 24 interview with Russian
Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Koluzin, in which he labeled
NATO actions in 1999 as "aggression" and "one of the most
tragic pages in the history book of Europe of the late
twentieth century."

Political Rallies
--------------


4. (U) On March 24, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic
Party of Russia (LDPR) held a rally at the Serbian Embassy in
Moscow "to express solidarity with the Serbian people." LDPR
leader Vladimir Zhirinovskiy called the NATO actions "a
heinous act" and slammed Russia's 1999 Yeltsin government for
not stopping it. Zhirinovskiy added that the current Russian
government should help Kosovo return to Serbia, and after the
rally the Serbian Embassy invited him to visit.


5. (U) Also on March 24, Communist Party (KPRF) leader
Gennadiy Zyuganov called the 1999 NATO actions "the next
stage of American globalization." He compared U.S. actions
to Hitler's during World War II, saying "Hitler was unable to
subdue the Serbs . . . now the Americans tried to repeat it."
Echoing Zhironovskiy, Zyuganov explained that the
"aggression" was possible because "Russia kept silent."


6. (U) Forty activists of the youth group Nashi also held a
small ceremony in front of the Serbian Embassy. The group
lit candles to form the number 89, in memory of the
eighty-nine children killed during the NATO bombing campaign,
and held a moment of silence.

In the Press
--------------


7. (SBU) Russian airwaves, in particular, carried extensive

MOSCOW 00000797 002 OF 002


coverage and editorials on the tenth anniversary, tying it to
the August conflict with Georgia by arguing that President
Saakashvili used it to "unilaterally" settle the dispute.
Duma Deputy and CIS Institute Director Konstantin Zatulin's
editorial on the internet-based Regnum called the 1999
airstrikes "a war against Russia, and its attempts to rebuild
and revitalize its national dignity." He heaped blame upon
the Yeltsin-era government for failing to stand up to the U.S.


8. (SBU) In his statements to the press, former Russian PM
Yevgeniy Primakov, argued in favor of Kosovo's partition
("give the north of Kosovo to the Serbs") and of reuniting
the Republika Srpska with Serbia. While Primakov's
statements are not new and are not GOR policy, they do strike
a chord here. At a recent dinner with the Ambassador, State
Duma Deputy Andrey Kokoshin and retired general and Chairman
of the All Russia Organization of Veterans Mikhail Moiseyev
both praised Primakov for "showing spine" (reftel).

Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) The GOR's pronouncements and comments from
prominent Russian figures on the 1999 bombings were neither
surprising nor did they differ from previous statements;
however, they came in a crescendo, with the goal of
supporting several Russian contentions: the European
security architecture was broken and the region must pursue
Medvedev's European Security proposal; Kosovo's independence
was a dangerous precedent that lead to South Ossetia and
Abkhazia; and Russia was resurgent and must be dealt with as
an equal. For Russian nationalists, the anniversary was
useful political red meat around which their political bases
rallied.
BEYRLE