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MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Boris Yeltsin, receiving the credentials of 12 new ambassadors Tuesday, seized the chance to plug his favorite idea of a "multi-polar" world -- code for resisting what Russia sees as U.S. domination.
"The main task is create a stable, multi-polar world. It must be based on the norms and principles of international law, on all countries taking account of others' interests," he said.
"We are counting on the contribution of your states to the creation of a new multi-polar world system," he told the gathering, which included new envoys from Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Estonia, Bangladesh and Nicaragua.
Relations between Moscow and Washington took a dive during the Kosovo crisis when Yeltsin fiercely opposed NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. Russia said the air strikes violated international law.
Moscow, bedevilled by economic crisis, has lost some of its importance in world affairs since the breakup of the Soviet Union, though its status as a nuclear power and membership of the U.N. Security Council mean its voice still gets heard.
Yeltsin also pushed his vision of a "multi-polar" world last week during a trip to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of five Asian countries, including China, which Moscow sees as an ally in its attempts to weaken Washington's dominance.