CALMING THE BEAR

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott has begun talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev in an effort to defuse tensions over the role of the U.S. in NATO airstrikes. Security was tightened at the U.S. embassy after a grenade hit the old embassy building Wednesday. No arrests have yet been made in connection with the attack. Sally Donnelly reports: "It seems reasonable to assume that this attack was part and parcel of the growing anger over the continued NATO bombing in Bosnia. The mood in Moscow has grown very ugly, with the government issuing harsh statements, accusing the West of genocide, and the nightly news providing what is essentially pro-Serbian coverage. The propaganda campaign of the last few days may have encouraged those on the fringe, particularly radical nationalists or frustrated ex-military men into taking a terrorist step."