-- Even as planning moves ahead for U.S. President Bill Clinton to visit Moscow in May, U.S. officials are examining reports of a new Russian military offensive in Chechnya.


"That is certainly not the type of news that we would welcome,'' said a State Department spokeswoman.


Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who a month ago blamed Clinton's reluctance for the trip on the fighting in Chechnya, was flying to Europe on Tuesday to work on the agenda with Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev during talks Wednesday and Thursday in Geneva.


The White House announced Monday that the president will visit Moscow May 9 for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the allied victory in Europe in World War II.


Clinton's decision immediately drew fire from some in Congress, including Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that deals with foreign aid.


"With Chechnya in ashes and a recently signed deal providing nuclear technology to Iran, the president should be sending Boris Yeltsin a rebuke, not a reward," said McConnell.


The administration has made its displeasure clear over Russian plans to sell nuclear power plants to Iran and military hardware to a variety of nations.


The Russians are unhappy over plans to expand NATO eastward. Moscow also has been unmoved by complaints about its arms sales from the U.S., which is by far the world's biggest arms dealer.


As for the light-water power plants Russia wants to sell to Iran, Moscow says they are the same type the United States has offered to North Korea on the ground they have little value for a nuclear weapons program. But at the moment, Chechnya looms as the most difficult issue confronting Christopher and Kozyrev as they work on the Clinton-Yeltsin agenda.


"There are reports that Russian forces in Chechnya are preparing for and may have even begun another offensive," said State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly.


"That is certainly not the type of news that we would welcome," she said. "We continue to urge all of the parties to do everything possible to establish an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, which then, of course, should be followed by a cessation of hostilities and negotiations for a political settlement."


?Chancellor Helmut Kohl has not yet decided whether to attend Russia's VE Day anniversary ceremonies but has discussed them with Clinton, a German government spokesman said Tuesday, according to Reuters.