ts said on Tuesday. They said intensive efforts were under way to organise a meeting including Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who vowed on Tuesday that Russia would veto any move at the United Nations to authorise NATO air strikes against Serbia. We want as far as possible to move in step with Russia and give the Russians every opportunity to move with us, one Western diplomat said. The Contact Group, formed originally to promote peace efforts in Bosnia, includes the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, plus representatives of the European Union presidency and the European Commission. A NATO official said Albright would hold consultations with fellow NATO foreign ministers at alliance headquarters on Thursday, but other diplomats said that meeting was still uncertain and could depend on the outcome of a Contact Group session. The sequence of consultations raised speculation that the Alliance may issue the so-called activation order for air strikes against Yugoslavia. The allies say there is still stime for diplomacy this week but have threatened to launch an attack if Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic refuses to comply fully with United Nations demands for peace in Kosovo. However diplomats said some allies still had doubts about the legal basis for the use of force and Germany, a key European ally, would have to gain parliamentary approval before joining NATO action.