In the tumultuous nights of June 12, 1999, a battalion of Russian paratroopers attempted to seize control of Pristina Airport in Kosovo. This move triggered an immediate response from the then-President of the United States, Bill Clinton, who demanded that the Russian President at the time, Boris Yeltsin, halt the deployment of Russian troops in Kosovo, making it clear that any plan for the division of Kosovo would not be tolerated.
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| Russian VDV soldiers in a BTR near the Pristina International Airport, Yugoslavia, 1999 (archive) |
After 78 days of airstrikes, NATO forces had planned to land at Pristina Airport. However, they were caught off guard when they found that Russian forces had already taken control of the airport.
Such a Russian incursion into Kosovo almost sparked armed conflict between British forces and Russian troops.
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy had not planned to allow Russian presence in Kosovo.
Twenty-two years later, historian Lulëzim Nika brings to light some declassified documents from the library of former President Bill Clinton, along with a conversation between Clinton and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin on June 13, 1999.
In the conversation, Clinton made it clear to the Russian President that the deployment of Russian troops in Kosovo must be stopped.
"Some of our partners in the region are increasingly concerned that your military intends to violate their airspace to send additional troops to Kosovo. I know you will not allow your army to do this. It would be an act tantamount to war. Boris, I must ask you to instruct your military to stop the new deployments of troops in Kosovo. This could truly put us at odds and undermine Russia's credibility," Clinton is quoted as saying to Yeltsin.
According to historian Nika and the documents, Russia had only one goal: the division of Kosovo.
On June 14, 1999, in another telephone conversation, Clinton told the former Russian President that there are three points that must be respected:
• The operation must be militarily effective.
• Command harmony must be ensured.
• Neither the perception nor the reality of Kosovo's division will be allowed.
• The tensions between NATO and Russia during the 1999 Kosovo conflict highlight the complexities of international relations and the delicate balance of power in the post-Cold War era.