USSR 1991

Page 172

In order to show friendship, Milosevic personally went to the airport to meet Soviet Prime Minister Pavlov, and the two had a friendly meeting at the airport.Milosevic shook Pavlov's hand and said excitedly, "Welcome to Serbia, Prime Minister Pavlov. On behalf of the people of the whole country, thank you for coming."

Pavlov also gave him a friendly smile, and the photo of the cordial meeting between the two sides was captured by the reporter. This photo will soon be on the headlines of newspapers in the streets of Serbia.

The enthusiasm of the Serbs is obvious, because the Soviet Union did not hurt the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at its most difficult time, and also provided economic and military assistance to help Serbia survive the cold winter.Pavlov noticed that the friendship between Serbia and the Soviet Union was promoted everywhere on the street, which made Pavlov feel a little surprised. The enemy of the year became his ally in the blink of an eye because of a war.

Pavlov was invited to the Serbian Presidential Palace, where Pavlov will have a secret dialogue with the actual power-holder of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Items for military bases.

At the conference table, Milosevic changed his previous smiling attitude to another serious expression.And Pavlov also very cautiously proposed the purpose of setting up strategic missiles.

"The Soviet Union intends to set up a ballistic missile base in Serbia to deal with NATO's attempt to set up an anti-missile system in Poland and other Central European countries. This is a very cautious and confidential plan. We hope that President Milosevic can agree with the Soviet Union's approach. , in order to achieve the goal of strategic cooperation between the two countries.”

Pavlov put forward the request of the Soviet Union. He carefully observed the other party's expression. Milosevic's face flashed a trace of surprise. He did not expect the Soviet Union to make such a request.This amounted to turning Serbia into a Soviet outpost in Eastern Europe.

"If the strategic intention of the Soviet Union is to tie Serbia to your tank? Or is it to rejoin your Warsaw Pact camp. Don't forget that the Soviet Union touched the dust of the nose when it came to the Cuban Missile Crisis." Milosevic's face became a little ugly. He really didn't expect that this state visit would turn into a contest between the two allied countries.Serbia does hope to get the asylum of the Soviet Union, but this does not mean that their interests are tied to the interests of the Soviet Union, but the current situation has also made Milosevic realize that turning against the Soviet Union is equivalent to being alone in Europe.

As long as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia does not disintegrate for a day, NATO's claws will not let Serbia go for a day. Even after the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, NATO's military integration has put pressure on Serbia in neighboring countries. On the issue of Kosovo, if it were not for the Soviet Union The conspiracy calculations of most countries in the United Nations have been stopped, and perhaps even the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be in trouble.

"But if Serbia doesn't join our camp, is there a way out? Reconcile with the West? Give it up. When the Yugoslav civil war broke out, German Chancellor Kohl was the first country to recognize the legitimacy of the Croatian regime, followed by France. , Britain and a series of Western countries, what does that mean? It means they only want to see a fragmented Eastern Europe, not a strong and united union."

Everything Pavlov said left Milosevic in deep thought.

"Also, you are wrong to compare the Cuban missile crisis with the current situation. The opponent of the Soviet Union was the United States. It had the confidence to launch a world war. But what about Europe now? The economic downturn coupled with social unrest, Their actual strength is much weaker than what was shown in front of us. Back then we were facing a strong country, but now we are facing a declining alliance.”

Pavlov said, "If Yugoslavia rejects us, it means that you may face the threat of NATO countries alone. Without the protection of the Iron Curtain, do you still have a chance to make a comeback in front of them? Comrade Milosevic, let me Let me tell you what will happen if the Soviet Union chooses to refuse, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be bombed by NATO, will be dismembered, from Kosovo, to Croatia to Bosnian Muslims, will be disintegrated by NATO inch by inch, and then? Your people will be forced to go to the West Go wash dishes to support yourself, and what about you? They can justly send you to the International Tribunal in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and you will spend the rest of your life in The Hague Prison, or die tragically. Then this country will be forever Into the dark, which is the result of your refusal to cooperate."

Milosevic's face became very ugly, and everything Pavlov said was true.Had it not been for Soviet interference, The Hague would have put him on trial.

"And the Soviet Union will re-form an unbreakable alliance and let NATO know that they will never have a chance to manipulate the life and death of a country and interfere in a country's internal affairs. I guarantee that the Soviet Union will make everyone who is against him pay what he deserves The price is to shed the last drop of blood."

Chapter 381 French and German Cooperation

Pavlov’s words made Milosevic really come to his senses. He who was still thinking about it before understood one thing. The Soviet Union’s protection of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is very important, and Serbia’s interests are important to the Soviet Union. It can be said that it can be separated. The Soviet Union's abandonment of Yugoslavia is just losing an important outpost. When Serbia is isolated in the whole of Europe, it means that they will be divided up by NATO countries until they collapse.

It is an insult to the Serbian people to think that, as the president of a country, he would stand trial in an international court and be sentenced to life imprisonment or be hanged in the end.

Milosevic said worriedly, "What if the deployment of ballistic missiles stimulates NATO's nerves? Yugoslavia can no longer afford the no-fly zone and the bombing of NATO's joint forces. Even if the Soviet Union is willing to provide billions of interest-free Without loans, Serbia will not be able to complete post-war home reconstruction in a short period of time.”

"Which countries are next to Serbia?"

Pavlov suddenly said such a sentence, which made Milosevic a little inexplicable, but he still answered honestly, "Around Serbia? Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Romania, etc. Plus Slovenia, Croatia is a country not officially recognized by the international community."

"Then, which of these surrounding countries do you think have far more military power than Serbia?" Pavlov asked softly, tapping his hand on the table, waiting for President Milosevic's answer.

"To be honest, no." Milosevic replied honestly, "During the Yugoslav war, we got a lot of military exercises from your country. Although the economy is in a difficult period, the military strength far exceeds that of the surrounding countries. .”

"Very well, so do you now think we will have the Cuban Missile Crisis?" Pavlov began to explain for Milosevic, "Serbia is not geographically close to the old European powers, so it is not The threat from NATO will be faced head-on, and the deployment of ballistic missiles is a political game between the two sides, not a military contest."

"However, Serbia's economy has not yet fully recovered. Doing so is tantamount to cutting off Serbia's future. We do not hope that Serbia, which finally stood up in the war, will eventually fall due to economic problems." Milosevic said express their worries.

"Do you want to say that the prosperity of Yugoslavia was all due to the charity of the Western society?" Pavlov sneered, "Economic blockade? There are many countries willing to cooperate with you. It's a farcical argument to choose to surrender instead of blockade."

Milosevic was left speechless by the refutation, so he chose to remain silent.Pavlov knew that the first tentative contact did not make actual progress, and Milosevic had doubts about the promise Pavlov gave.After all, Serbia is also facing social unrest.

"I think there is no short-term progress in cooperation today, which does not mean that the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will not change its mind in the future." Pavlov took a step back, and for the first time did not show the Soviet Union's rough and tough political stance. Blackmail President Milosevic.

Pavlov reached out and shook Milosevic's hand, reiterating the friendship and equality between the two peoples, but actually looking at other conspiracy plans.Since Milosevic was reluctant to cooperate, he left the other party with no choice at all.

On the second day after Pavlov left Serbia, Western newspapers published the conversation between the Soviet Prime Minister and the Serbian President who attempted to establish a ballistic missile base in Belgrade. It was impossible to say that there was no Soviet support behind it. Yes, the Soviet Union just wanted to force Milosevic to make a choice, whether to cooperate with the Soviet Union or choose to fight NATO alone.

Of course, NATO's reaction was strong, especially German Chancellor Kohl, who was already wary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After he heard that Serbia was preparing to cooperate with the Soviet Union, the German government, which was busy dealing with domestic refugees, immediately exploded.He immediately got in touch with French President Jacques Chirac and reached an agreement between the two sides before the situation deteriorated.

Although there are still minor conflicts between Germany and France, they still showed high-profile consistency in the face of the threat of a common enemy.

"President Chirac, you and I both know that the Soviet Union and Serbia are getting so close. It is about the recently disclosed intelligence of the CIA that the establishment of ballistic missile interception systems in Central European countries. The Soviets can't bear it anymore, and they want to fight back. "Prime Minister Kerr replied, "This is also an opportunity for us to clean up the disobedient Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. NATO can use this excuse to impose military sanctions on Serbia."

"Military sanctions? As long as Croatia is encouraged to stir up trouble again, we can intervene in the chaos in Serbia. We can completely support Croatia's border to provoke Serbia behind the scenes, and then introduce the United Nations to intervene." French President Chirac proposed a reliable It is suggested that Serbia will have a chance only if they get into chaos.If Yugoslavia refuses to accept the soft and hard, even France and Germany will be at a loss.

"What if we attack Serbia and draw the Soviet Union into the game?" Chirac raised his concerns. He is not afraid of resistance from Yugoslavia. The only thing he fears is that the Soviet Union will do some dirty tricks behind the scenes, causing French suffering. .This is not the first time Chirac has experienced such a despicable trick.

"It's much better than people saying that missiles are erected at our doorstep, isn't it? Besides, the strategic space of the Soviet Union has been squeezed by us. Just add more fire, and they can be completely squeezed out from Eastern Europe." .There is only an isolated Moscow, how can Yanayev play?"

Cole tried to use various means to drag down the Soviet Union's layout in Eastern Europe, even if it ended up in a situation where both sides suffered losses.Of course, he is always thinking about calculating France, of course he is thinking about how to make France and the Soviet Union lose both, so that he can reap the benefits of the fisherman.Let Germany go desperately with the Soviet Union?Germany, which has experienced a war, is not so stupid.

So it is self-evident how much sincerity there is in this Franco-German alliance.

Chapter 382 The French Profession Sells Teammates

"French President Jacques Chirac expressed close concern over the Soviet Union's plan to establish a ballistic missile base in Serbia. President Jacques Chirac said that France would strongly condemn and protest the Soviet Union's actions. The construction of the missile base. The above is from the Agence France-Presse report."

"The German Chancellor stated at the previous press conference that the actions of the Soviet Union in Serbia were destroying the peaceful environment in Eastern Europe and posing a major threat to the strategic environment in Europe as a whole. Germany has now reached a preliminary consensus with France, which is not a member of the NATO military , will not tolerate the Soviet Union continuing to provoke NATO allies in Eastern Europe, and will implement a new round of strikes and retaliatory measures against Serbia. The above is a report from the Deutsche Presse Agency."

The two news releases were almost only three hours apart, and the unanimous "joint statement" between France and Germany conveyed a message to everyone that the two countries will unite to deal with the threat from Eastern Europe.Shortly after the news was released, Croatian President Tudjman made a surprise visit to Germany, preparing to seek assistance from Germany.

"President Tudjman, I think you understand the latest movements in Serbia, right? The Soviet Union will deepen economic and military cooperation with Serbia, which is an attempt to turn Serbia into an outpost of the Soviet Union. I think this is for Croatia. , is definitely not good news." Prime Minister Kerr's tone was threatening, "As a divided country of Yugoslavia, Serbia dreams of remerging you into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and re-establishing a Yugoslav federation. So once Serbia recovers Military power, under the instigation of the Soviet Union, unintentionally provoked another war and conflict."

"I know." President Tudjman replied honestly, and showed a look of anxiety, "This is also the reason why I suddenly visited Germany. Once Croatia falls into the threat of war again, it must not be a good thing for Germany. What good news."

"That's simply bad news." Prime Minister Cole thought about dealing with the red threat from Eastern Europe again, and he felt a lingering feeling. He tried his best to get rid of those lingering red ghosts and nightmares.

"So we plan to establish a NATO military base in Croatia and deploy strategic bombers to deal with the threat of the Soviet Union to ensure the security of Eastern Europe. I don't think Croatia will refuse such a condition? Of course, as compensation, we will assist the Croatian Army. New tanks and fighter jets will help Croatia establish a modern armed force as soon as possible."

The conditions put forward by Cole really moved Tudjman a bit. A modern armed force is what Tudjman pursues. The current Croatian army has eight guard brigades and three infantry brigades, but there are very few heavy weapons. In the original Yugoslav War, although Germany supported part of the former East German armored weapons to Croatia, in front of the Serbian national armed forces supported by the Soviet Union, it was a pitiful creature whose record was refreshed by tank troops.

"T72M tanks, T55 tanks, and a small amount of M84 tanks. These are the surplus materials that have not been processed after the merger of East Germany. We will give them to you unconditionally. There are also 21 MiG-24 fighter jets, Mi-24 15 helicopters, as long as you agree to the conditions of the NATO joint forces to deploy strategic bombers in Croatia, we will selflessly donate this batch of arms to the Croatian Army and your newly established air force."

Anyway, the German Air Force does not have long-range strategic bombers, and Cole's approach is just to use the generosity of other NATO countries as a cover for his own purposes.

"I agree to your request, but I hope that NATO can keep its promise and help Croatia resist Serbia's attack." Tudjman nodded. Obviously, this deal is very cost-effective for Croatia. Of course, he agreed to all of President Kerr's requests , including the establishment of NATO military bases to counter Soviet actions in Serbia.

"It's such a pleasant cooperation, President Tudjman." Cole showed a smile of conspiracy, and he, who was always thinking about calculating the Soviet Union and its allies, finally caught the opportunity on this issue.As for the life and death of Croatia, he will not care.It would be best if both France and the Soviet Union had exhausted their strength, leaving him alone as a powerful country in Europe.

"Happy cooperation, Prime Minister Kerr." Ji Tuman also responded with a friendly smile.

The news of the deployment of strategic bombers in Croatia to deal with the threat of the Soviet Union reached the ears of French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, and immediately made the president's face darken. This is completely different from the previous script. Could it be that France and Germany jointly instigated Croatia? Border conflict with Serbia?Why has it become a plan to deploy strategic bombers in Croatia.

Chirac felt that he had been put together by Kohl. French Prime Minister Alain Juppe also believed that it was an unwise choice for German Chancellor Kohl to change the terms of the deal without authorization, and hoped that the French president could reject the terms proposed by the Germans.

"Everyone knows that the German army has never had such a thing as a strategic bomber. That is to say, if strategic bombers are deployed in Croatia, the main tasks will still be borne by the British and French air forces, which means that most of the final funds will still have to come from France or France. The UK’s finances are divided. Cole’s use of others’ generosity to accomplish his ulterior strategic goals is wonderful, but does he treat the leaders of other countries as fools?”

President Chirac said angrily, "France must take a tough attitude of non-cooperation and warn the Germans not to try to make small moves behind our backs. France has no patience to expose the conspiracy of its allies. Even if it is to deal with the common European threat, Germany should not Always think about your own calculations."

Chirac didn't believe that Germany would actively participate in the thankless act of deploying strategic bombers, at most he would yell a few words from the sidelines, and then watch the French be ashamed by the Soviet Union.

"So we have to make Germany nervous once before he realizes the seriousness of the matter." After hearing President Chirac's complaints, Prime Minister Juppe said softly, "Hasn't Germany always supported Croatia? Then we will relax our attitude towards Serbia. Sanctions, even pretending to throw an olive branch to Serbia, made German Chancellor Kohl nervous once, don't forget that France is an important political force that can influence the situation in Europe, whether it is a member of NATO or the Soviet Union, no one should think about it Taking advantage of France."

Chapter 383 Reaching an Agreement

Although German Chancellor Kohl repeatedly emphasized to Chirac that the change of plan was not due to Germany's unilateral factors, but because Croatian President Gituman was unwilling to have another conflict with Serbia on the border, so he chose to deploy strategic bombers to maintain the peace in Eastern Europe. Strategic peace, but how could Chirac continue to believe Cole's nonsense, he would rather believe that the Soviet Union would disintegrate in the next moment, and would not believe Cole's claim to fool France.