THE Russian President, Mr Boris Yeltsin, stepped up his personal telephone diplomacy with NATO leaders yesterday but told his top negotiator to take a tough line in talks with the Western defence alliance on its plans for enlargement.
The Kremlin said Mr Yeltsin discussed security matters with the West German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, following a conversation with the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, on Monday.
Itar-Tass news agency said Mr Yeltsin had instructed the Foreign Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, to take a firm line in defending Russia's interests at Tuesday's meeting in Moscow with NATO Secretary-General, Mr Javier Solana.
"The President confirmed the Foreign Minister's mandate for the talks and noted the need to continue the firm Russian line, based on defending the country's interests especially on military questions," Tass said, quoting presidential press secretary, Mr Sergei Yastrzhembsky.
Mr Solana was due in Moscow yesterday for the talks which Mr Primakov says will show whether Russia and NATO can sign an agreement on a new relationship after years of mistrust.
Some Kremlin sources say Russia has already decided to sign the deal in Paris on May 27th but will keep up the uncertainty and anti-NATO rhetoric until the last minute to appease domestic opponents who fear Mr Yeltsin is selling out national interests.
The Kremlin gave few details of Mr Yeltsin's conversations with Dr Kohl and Mr Blair, and did not say if they would have any impact on the outcome of Mr Primakov's talks with Mr Solana.
A group of influential Russian foreign policy experts warned the Kremlin against signing a quick but imperfect deal with NATO, saying it might be wiser to prolong talks.
"Although steps have been taken in the right direction in the last few months, and the Russian president and foreign minister have obtained movement from the Western side, too much remains in the zone of uncertainty," said the declaration, published by the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The declaration was issued by the Advisory Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, which broadly backs Mr Yeltsin but has no direct influence on policy.