Grachev's statement came after Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev and the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, declared last week that the 700 Russian peacekeepers may soon have to leave the war-torn region. While the generally pro-Serb Russian parliament has vehemently opposed all NATO attempts to help the Bosnian government, Kozyrev's statements seem to be evidence of a toughening official stance.
The statements showed Russia's growing dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the former Yugoslavia, with the United States making unilateral moves to help the Bosnian government and all sides in the conflict ignoring United Nations calls for peace talks, a leading Russian military analyst said.
"So far, the possible withdrawal of Russian troops is mostly a threat to show how dangerous the situation is," said Alexander Konovalov of the U.S. and Canada Institute. "It is meant to remind the sides that, if peacekeepers leave," the warring sides "will be up against each other with no one to separate them."
Ukraine also threatened to withdraw its peacekeepers Monday.
"If our contingent there is treated with desrespect, we simply should no longer send our soldiers," President Leonid Kuchma said, according to Reuters.
The French and British governments, which have the two largest contingents in Bosnia, have made a similar threat if the United States ends the UN arms embargo on arms to the Bosnian government forces. France has 6,000 troops in the former Yugoslavia, and Britain has 2,500.
The State Duma issued a statement Friday calling on President Boris Yeltsin to order the pullout of Russian peacekeepers if their lives are put in danger by the continued fighting.
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