Quotation
The biggest event of Primakov's short term in office was the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO forces. On March 23, 1999 -- the eve of the NATO strikes -- Primakov was in the air, on his way to Washington to negotiate financial aid for Russia, when he learned that the airstrike on Belgrade was imminent. In a powerful gesture, loaded with symbolism, Primakov ordered his plane to turn around over the Atlantic and fly back to Moscow. . . .
Primakov's U-turn was not just an expression of the government's frustration with America's policy toward Serbia and its disregard for Russia's opposition to airstrikes. It captured something far more significant -- a general change in attitude toward America and the West among the Russian general pubic. . . .