-Caveat Lector- Banker Worked On Kosovo Diplomacy By TONY CZUCZKA .c The Associated Press BONN, Germany (AP) - An investment banker with ties to Russia went on a secret mission to Belgrade in May as part of diplomatic efforts to persuade Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept a peace plan for Kosovo, a German official said Wednesday. The London banker, Peter Castenfelt, met Milosevic with the consent of Russia and Germany shortly before Yugoslavia agreed June 3 to the peace plan presented by official mediators, according to two men involved in the diplomatic effort. One of those two, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's foreign policy adviser, Michael Steiner, said he met Castenfelt before and after the banker's seven-day trip to Belgrade starting May 29. Steiner said Castenfelt had only a limited impact and had no mandate to negotiate peace terms. ``It would be naive to believe that Milosevic only needed new explanations in order for him to say: Now I'm ready to make peace,'' Steiner said Wednesday. Two main factors persuaded the Yugoslav leader to give in, Steiner said. ``One was the military pressure, which increased sharply in the final phase,'' he said. ``The second element was that Moscow signaled very clearly that (Milosevic) could not count on military or political support.'' A second man involved in the diplomatic effort, Karl Kaiser, said Wednesday that the mission helped secure the agreement reached by Milosevic and Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish president and European Union peace envoy. Kaiser was a foreign policy adviser to Schroeder during his election campaign. He said he introduced Castenfelt to Steiner and Wolfgang Ischinger, a senior German Foreign Ministry official. Castenfelt has acted as an intermediary between the International Monetary Fund and Russia in the past, Kaiser said. His connection to Russia helped him in his meeting with the Yugoslav president, Kaiser said. ``Castenfelt helped explain positions that Milosevic subsequently agreed to,'' he said. ``We paved the way.'' Castenfelt tried to put peace conditions set out by Western powers and Russia in a positive light for Milosevic, Kaiser said. He stressed, for example, that the international force being sent to Kosovo was under a United Nations mandate, something Milosevic had demanded, Kaiser said. Castenfelt, who reportedly met Milosevic once during his stay, also discussed efforts by diplomats to coordinate crucial details about the pullout of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, the end of NATO's air war and the arrival of the international peacekeeping force, Kaiser said. Castenfelt could not be reached for comment on his reported diplomatic efforts. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
