President Yeltsin reassured Greece yesterday that Moscow would not back down over a controversial deal to deliver missiles to Cyprus.
Mr Yeltsin met the Greek Defence Minister, Mr Akis Tsohatzopoulos in a departure from protocol described by the Kremlin as underlining the "special prospects for Russian-Greek military and technical co-operation".
Mr Yeltsin assured Mr Tsohatzoopolos "of Moscow's determination to fulfil the contract to provide Cyprus with the S-300 anti-missile defence system on time," according to the Kremlin spokesman, Mr Sergei Yastrzhembsky.
Last week Turkey said the deployment of the surface-to-air missiles on the divided island, expected in September or October, could lead to fighting.
Mr Yeltsin's assurances came as the Cypriot Government was urging the EU not to allow the island's divisions or sabre-rattling by Turkey to block its entry to the EU early in the next century.
In Ankara, Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) denounced the opening of EU accession talks with the Republic of Cyprus yesterday and announced moves to forge closer ties.
The Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot delegations announced the creation of a "joint economic zone" between Turkey and the TRNC, which is recognised only by Ankara. Turkey has threatened to effectively annex the TRNC in response to the EU decision to open accession talks with the Republic of Cyprus.
As the talks got underway in Brussels, the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, acknowledged that the division of the island was a "weakness" in its bid to join the EU. He also rejected repeated EU requests for Cyprus to change its mind about the planned deployment of the Russian missiles.
In his opening statement at the negotiations, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, said the EU would continue to try to persuade the Turkish Cypriots to take up the offer of representation on the island's negotiating team. He repeated EU support for a UN peace plan and expressed optimism that the offer of membership would help kick-start talks between the two communities.