So NATO officials are struggling to devise a solution. Under one approach, Russian troops would support NATO forces in their area but would not be under their direct command. Instead, they would be under the overall supervision of the top NATO general in Kosovo, a less rigid command structure that is designed to mollify the Russians while upholding the alliance's principle of unity of command. It is unclear whether Moscow might accept such an arrangement. But it is just one of a host of issues that remain to be settled.
Money is likely to be a big issue.
Citing Russia's financial crisis and its cash-strapped military, Stepashin has publicly proposed that the international community pay the cost of stationing Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Talbott said that Russian officials had yet to formally ask for funds. He declined to say Thursday whether Western nations might be willing to provide them. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 11, 1999. All rights reserved.