Leadership Quote by Boris Yeltsin

Yeltsin’s line is less a compliment to Milosevic than a diplomatic sleight of hand: it reframes “progress” as mere participation. In the Kosovo crisis, getting Belgrade to show up could be spun as momentum without requiring Belgrade to concede anything. That’s the point. The standard is deliberately lowered to the minimum viable gesture, the kind international actors can package as a breakthrough while the underlying power imbalance remains intact.

The intent is also pointedly Russian. Yeltsin, presiding over a weakened post-Soviet state but still guarding Moscow’s claim to influence in the Balkans, signals that Russia can deliver Milosevic to the table. It’s a subtle assertion of relevance: we’re still a broker, still a necessary intermediary, still capable of restraining an ally. The phrasing avoids condemning Milosevic’s conduct and shifts attention away from atrocities and toward process. “Agreed to sit” is the softest possible verb; it implies reasonableness without specifying terms, timelines, or accountability.

There’s a quiet message to Western capitals, too. If the “most important thing” is negotiation, then pressure that bypasses negotiation - sanctions escalation, especially NATO force - can be cast as premature or destabilizing. Yeltsin is staking out the moral high ground of diplomacy while protecting a strategic partner from isolation. The subtext: don’t expect Russia to bless an outcome that looks like Serbian surrender; accept talks as the victory. In crisis rhetoric, process becomes policy, because process is the only arena where Moscow can still shape the endgame.