Ivanov was speaking prior to his departure for Helsinki for Russian-US talks aimed at solving the differences.

Russia was not prepared to be a second-rate player but along with other nations wanted to play an active role in efforts to restore peace to Kosovo, he said.

Ivanov said he saw "good chances'' that his talks with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Helsinki will yield a solution to the problems.

Ivanov was due to join Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev who arrived in Helsinki earlier in the day for talks with US Defence Secretary William Cohen to discuss the differences.

The New York Times

newspaper today quoted Cohen as saying the US, acting on behalf of NATO, would try to be as creative as possible to incorporate the Russian forces. The Russiansmight be offered to take over ``an area of responsibility'' in one of the five NATO sectors in Kosovo.

The Pentagon chief also planned to discuss several possible commando structure scenarios under which Russian forces could report to the commander of a neutral country like Finland or Sweden.

Sergeyev warned that the continuing activities of the underground Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) may turn Kosovo into a ``powerkeg'', jeopardising the peace process in the region. He made his remarks after a meeting with Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari in Helsinki, according the Russian news agency Interfax.

The meetings were called in a bid to sort out differences between NATO AND Russia following the surprise deployment on Saturday at Pristina airport of a 200-strong Russian peacekeeping force after the end of hostilities in Kosovo last week.

Sergeyev, speaking to reporters, said he had instructions from President Boris Yeltsin to seek solutions to all outstanding military problems relating to the peacekeepingmission in Kosovo on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, the news agency FNB reported.

``The West need not worry about our paratroopers in Pristina,'' Sergeyev was quoted as saying. Any remaining problems would be solved in talks with NATO's commander in Kosovo, British General Michael Jackson, the minister added.

Sergeyev said he believed the discussions in Helsinki would be ``constructive'', and that all differences could be resolved before the summit meeting between US President Bill Clinton and Yeltsin in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday.