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Author : V. Egoshkin
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
AMID THE BLOODY EVENTS in Ukraine and the
massive propaganda and economic attacks on Russia
by the U.S. and its satellites, the overthrow of Slobo-
dan Milosevic's regime, which was unacceptable to the
West, provides a series of instructive lessons. Inciden-
tally, Slobodan himself predicted that everything that
was used against Yugoslavia would soon be used
against Russia, which he believed was the Americans'
main goal. It seems that the time for this has come.
As the ambassador of the Russian Federation, I worked with Yugoslav President S. Milo-
sevic for exactly six months - from my arrival in Belgrade on April 5, 2000 until he was
forcibly removed from power on October 6.
THE BALKANS, especially Yugoslavia, always attracted me. Like all those who studied at
the International Relations Department of the Moscow State Institute of International
Relations, I studied the history of diplomacy, and it was especially important to study the
experience of Russian diplomatic activity in the Balkans.
The stormy events in the former Yugoslavia, in the not so distant past a prosperous state,
were an excellent illustration of the term "Balkanization," adopted back in the late 19th
century, which was quite applicable to what has been going on in the Caucasus in the past
several decades.
At the initial stage of my stint in Belgrade, it was important to prepare for the presentation
of credentials. Slobodan Milosevic, who was under intense pressure from the U.S. and its
Western allies, was extremely interested in the speedy "legalization" of the Russian am-
bassador, hoping that this would give him more room for political maneuver. It was clear
that the Yugoslavs would not drag their feet on the credentials presentation ceremony.
AMBASSADORS often have to wait for months to formally present their credentials. They
are arranged into groups as they arrive and then a collective presentation ceremony is con-
ducted. However, the FRY leadership made an exception for the Russian ambassador. I
had to wait only a week.
Our meeting was quite long. Following the recommendations I had received in Moscow, I
briefly outlined the Russian approaches on the situation in the region and the development
of cooperation with the FRY. However, S. Milosevic did most of the talking, offering a
detailed characterization of the country's economic and internal political situation, assessing
http://interaffairs.ru
At the Turn of an Epoch: From the Diary of the Russian Ambas-
sador to Belgrade