President Yeltsin walked out of his meeting with President Chirac and the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder after a mere five minutes yesterday in Istanbul. He was, he said, leaving the OSCE summit and returning to Russia to "deal with Chechnya." Only later, after intense work by diplomats, was a compromise European Security Charter agreed.
It is, of course, nothing new for Mr Yeltsin to treat Western leaders with disdain. President Chirac and Mr Schroder have merely joined a long list of distinguished foreign politicians which Mr Yeltsin has boorishly snubbed in the course of his career. There can, however, be no claims of xenophobia on Mr Yeltsin's part. His treatment of Russian politicians has been every bit as peremptory, as witnessed by the number of prime ministers he has summarily dismissed in the past year.
His scorn for the leaders of two of Western Europe's most important powers does, however, mark a significant downturn in relations between Russia and its neighbours. That Mr Yeltsin felt able to treat them with such contempt supports a frequently expressed view that he regards the United States - because of its economic and military power - as the only country worth treating with respect. It should be stated however that he once snubbed Vice-President Gore by failing to turn up for a meeting with him.
The point at issue in Istanbul was Russia's military campaign in Chechnya. Mr Yeltsin reiterated his view that he, his prime minister, Mr Vladimir Putin, and the Russian military, were involved in attacks on "bandits" and "international" terrorists. There are, indeed, bandits and international terrorists in Chechnya. The leading bandit is a murderous warlord called Shamil Basayev. The most prominent terrorist is an Arab who goes only by the name of "Khattab."
Thus far Russia's campaign has fallen far short of its stated aims. Large numbers of civilians have been killed. Up to 200,000 people, mainly women and children, have been forced to flee their homes and take refuge in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. In the midst of all this devastation, bandits and international terrorists such as Shamil Basayev and Khattab are still at large. The dragon's teeth of bitterness have been sown for succeeding generations of Chechens just as Stalin's racist deportations provided an anti-Kremlin animus for today's Chechens.
Mr Schroder and Mr Chirac were not alone in criticising Russia's Chechen policy. President Clinton made similar points. He spoke privately with Mr Yeltsin for a respectable 45 minutes but his expressions of opposition fell on deaf ears. Mr Clinton's language, while mild enough to ensure the meeting ran its full length, was interpreted by the official ITARTASS news agency as support for Russia's policy.
Although the European Parliament has called for a freeze on aid to Moscow, it now seems likely that no financial sanctions will be taken. Phrases such as the need for "continued engagement" have been used. History has shown that the Kremlin usually interprets such messages to mean that it can do what it likes and then proceeds to do precisely that.