Lebed offers message of peace to Nato

Alexander Lebed, the Russian security chief, entered the nerve centre of Nato's military machine with a message of peace for Moscow's Cold War foe.

"The planet earth needs reason and intelligence and not wars. Let it be so," he said. Mr Lebed, for 20 years a soldier in the Warsaw Pact pitted against Nato, scrawled in the visitors' book at the alliance's command centre in southern Belgium.

General George Joulwan, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (Saceur), wrote: "Together, we can make it happen."

Mr Lebed said that Russia would take part in any follow-on force to the alliance-led peace mission in Bosnia which ends in December. Reuter - Mons