GERMANY: YELTSIN ATTENDS G8 SUMMIT - UPDATE

Russian/Nat

With relations frayed by NATO's battle over Kosovo, Russian President Boris Yeltsin joined other world leaders at their summit on Sunday, pledging to "mend ties after a fight."

Yeltsin's meetings with the leaders of the world's seven richest industrial nations are the first since the war in Kosovo seriously strained relations between Russia and the West.

It's Yeltsin's first trip abroad since he visited the Jordanian capital, Amman in February to attend the funeral of King Hussein.

Looking unsteady at first, Yeltsin held onto the hand of his wife, Naina, and grasped the rail as he descended slowly from the plane, almost stumbling at the bottom of the stairs.

But the Russian President recovered quickly and walked steadily past the honor guard to shake hands with officials there to greet him.

Much of the G-8 summit has so far concentrated on the reconstruction of Kosovo following the end of the NATO bombing earlier this month.

On Saturday, Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin blocked an attempt by the others to specifically exclude Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's government from benefiting from a huge reconstruction program in the Balkans.

In brief remarks upon his arrival, Yeltsin said his first priority was to reestablish relations after disagreements over Kosovo.

SOUNDBITE (Russian)
"Here I will be having political contacts. Political contacts with the leaders of countries we need to make up after our fight. That's the main thing."
SUPERCAPTION: Boris Yeltsin, Russian President

Yeltsin was to attend the summit's final session with U-S President Bill Clinton, Schroeder and the leaders of Japan, Canada, Britain, France, and Italy.

He's also expected to meet later separately with Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and then possibly with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Kosovo was the focus of Yeltsin's first meeting, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, joined by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

The Russian and German leaders discussed the priority for getting the refugees settled back in Kosovo before the onset of winter, as well as Yugoslav reconstruction.

The United States, Britain and France initially hoped the G-8 would make it crystal clear that only Kosovo would benefit, while the rest of Yugoslavia's Serb republic lived with NATO's bomb damage unless Milosevic is ousted.

But even Clinton's administration, the most outspoken on this issue, acknowledged differences among the NATO allies in the G-8 about what could be covered by "humanitarian" aid to Yugoslavia.

The summit is also expected to endorse a swift resumption of 4.5 (b) billion dollars in Western loans suspended when Russian financial markets collapsed last August.

Another key part of the final session of G-8 talks calls for North Korea to stop nuclear and missile development.
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