Yeltsin ordered Defence Minister Igor Stroyev to target Russian missiles ``on countries warring in Yugoslavia'' and backed the request of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to admit Yugoslavia to the union of Russia and Belarus, the two Slav neighbours.

Obliging lawmakers of the State Duma, Parliament's lower house, applauded the latest Kremlin moves, when Speaker Gennady Seleznev made the announcement in the House. He addressed the House, after his meeting with Yeltsin, following his talks over two days with Milosevic in Belgrade.

The Duma's managing council even postponed consideration of the procedure for impeachment vote, scheduled for April 15.

In a sign of another shift in Russian policy, Yeltsin warned NATO that Russia may become militarily involved in Yugoslavia, ifpushed into it by the Americans.

Until now Yeltsin had claimed that Russia would not allow itself to be sucked into the Yugoslav conflict under any circumstances.

His warning came at a meeting of the heads of Russia's regions, in the Kremlin, called to discuss the domestic political and international situation.

``Russia will not interfere in the armed conflict in Yugoslavia, if Americans don't push it that way,'' Yeltsin said emphatically, referring to the possible sending of ground forces by NATO into Kosovo.

``They want to launch ground operations, want to simply seize Yugoslavia,'' he said, adding Russia couldn't allow NATO to seize Yugoslavia by sending in ground forces.

The Russian leader has been under increasing pressure from Parliament and the armed forces, for Russia to play a greater role in the Yugoslav conflict.

Yeltsin also urged the alliance's leaders to ``admit historical error'' for what he called to resolve the Kosovo crisis by launching airstrikes against Yugoslavia. He termedthe NATO airstrikes as ``barbaric'' and ``lawless.''

However, he still insisted on Friday during his meeting with the Speaker of the State Duma that Russia would not supply military hardware to Yugoslavia.

The request for Yugoslav's admission to the union of Russia and Belarus, had been made by Milosevic, during a meeting with Seleznev in Belgrade.

Russia and Belarus signed a charter of union between the two Slav neighbours, last year. Recently, Belarussian President Alexander Lukoshenko had said that he was considering the possibility of redeployment of Russian missiles in Belarus, in view of NATO's expansion.

The Kremlin has unsuccessfully made a series of diplomatic moves in the past two weeks, to stop NATO airstrikes.

``Largescale interference in Yugoslavia may require amendment to Russian defence doctrine,'' said Sergei Prikhodko, Yeltsin's foreign policy aide, referring to the possibility of sending ground forces by NATO into Belgrade.