Russian Foreign Minister Resigns

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, heavily criticized for what many in the Duma believe is a pro-Western stance, resigned from his post. "Yeltsin did not want to lose him, and Kozyrev didn't want to quit," says TIME's Yuri Zarakhovich. "But Kozyrev had to make his intentions known today." Since Russian law does not allow government officials to serve simultaneously in parliament, Kozyrev had until today to chose between the ministry and the Duma seat he won in the December 17 election. That decision was made easier in the face of dwindling support from President Boris Yeltsin, who has pledged to make changes in his Cabinet in the wake of victories by hard-liners in the December elections. "Yeltsin had to find a scapegoat for his troubles. He has been distancing himself from Kozyrev. Many -- not just those on the right but also liberal democrats -- believe that Kozyrev is responsible for a failure in Russian foreign policy. They say Kozyrev has made Russia subservient to the wishes of the U.S. and has neglected the Far East, the Middle East and especially Bosnia. But nobody should forget that he did not create his own foreign policy. He only did exactly what Yeltsin charted for him."