ABSTRACT
Western observers put the lie to the assumption that the move had been "unexpected" when they dismissed it as just another "carefully prepared piece of theatre" aimed at the "domestic audience". The hostile to Russia's pro-Western policies, however, saw a double game in this and in like-sounding statements on the Partnership for Peace (PfP): they reprimanded Russia for its attempts to create "difficulties for appearances' sake" then promptly agreeing to join PfP without any reservations. One of the most contentious issues facing Russia in 1994 was whether to accept NATO's offer to join the PfP. During talks with Serb President Milosevic on August 1 Kozyrev guaranteed that all sanctions against Yugoslavia would be lifted if the Bosnian Serbs accepted the Contact Group's peace plan and pulled back to agreed borders. However the US and the West may have welcomed diplomatic Russia's services, they were nevertheless unwilling to countenance Russia's occupying the political high ground for long.
