Russia Wants Kosovo to Remain Part of Serbia — MP Created: 14.11.2005 11:03 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:03 MSK, 14 hours 46 minutes ago
MosNews Deputy speaker of the Russian Duma (low chamber of the Russian parliament) Sergei Baburin has said that Moscow will never recognize the independence and occupation of Kosovo and Metohija and will always support solutions that leave the southern Serbian province as part of Serbia, the Montenegrin Dan newspaper reported. “We are prepared to help Serbia but the leadership of Serbia-Montenegro must first do more to solve the Kosmet (Serbian term for Kosovo) problem,” Baburin said in an interview with the paper during a visit of Russian and Belarusian parliamentary delegations to Belgrade. According to Baburin, the Serbian government must ask international organizations for help regarding the implementation of the UN Resolution on Kosovo so that the province remains part of the country. He believes that Belgrade and the Serbian parliament should make tangible moves and submit a plan to solve the Kosmet problem, in order to provide Russia with enough space to manoeuvre and use diplomatic methods to support Kosovo and Metohija to remain part of Serbia in line with the resolution. “…The Russians have on several occasions supported Serbia in world organizations, but we were asked why we were doing this when Serbian officials remained silent,” Baburin pointed out. “We are prepared to support Serbia as far as the Kosmet issue is concerned, but Belgrade must first define its position clearly,” he said. The official was unable to say if Russia would use its veto in the UN Security Council if Kosovo was granted independence. http://mosnews.com/news/2005/11/14/kosovobaburin.shtml Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
