http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/07/7D5C14A7-7A9C-42BE-82A1-FE7C0FE D7CF9.html
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 27, 2007 Putin Says Kosovo Status Threatens European Peace July 27, 2007 - Russian President Vladimir Putin says granting Kosovo independence would threaten peace in Europe. Speaking at a Kremlin ceremony today, Putin said that in opposing Kosovo's independence, Serbia is defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Putin added that peace in Europe cannot be maintained "without taking into account the fundamental principles of international law." Facing the threat of a Russian veto, the United States and its European allies on July 20 withdrew a UN resolution that would have given Kosovo internationally supervised independence. (Reuters, ITAR-TASS) ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072700 754.html Reuters July 27, 2007 Kosovo independence is threat to Europe peace: Putin MOSCOW - Peace in Europe can only be built by respecting Serbia's territorial integrity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, responding to proposals to grant Kosovo independence. "Today the people of Serbia are defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity," Putin said at a Kremlin ceremony. "Peace cannot be built in Europe without taking into account the fundamental principles of international law." Russia backs Serbia's opposition to the Western pressure to grant independence to its breakaway province of Kosovo. Moscow says that creating such a precedent could provoke new conflict. Moscow has regions of its own with strong separatist sentiment and is locked in conflict with Tbilisi over Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Last week, Russia's threat of veto forced the United States and the European Union to shelve a draft U.N. resolution which Moscow says implied, without referring directly to, the granting of independence to Kosovo. The issue has been referred to the Contact group comprising Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the United States and Russia where no country has veto rights. But Russia insists it is up to the U.N. Security Council to make the final decision. Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
