http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=204418&s=&i=&t=Germany_sending_500_e xtra_troops_to_Kosovo:_ministry
Turkish Press Agencies November 28, 2007 Germany sending 500 extra troops to Kosovo: ministry BERLIN - Germany is sending an additional 500 soldiers to Kosovo to prepare for possible unrest after the December 10 deadline on talks for the province's future, the defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday. The extra troops would boost the German contingent in the 17,000-strong NATO-led KFOR force to 2,800. The confirmation came after German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in an interview with the weekly newspaper Rheinischer Merkur to be published on Thursday: "Germany has deployed an additional reserve battalion of 500 men to ensure the stability of Kosovo." Current efforts to resolve the Serbian province's future status end on December 10 and the ethnic Albanian majority has threatened to declare independence soon afterwards. The United States and some European nations have said they would recognise Kosovo as an independent state. ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=204417 Turkish Press Agencies November 28, 2007 Russia 'very alarmed' by Kosovo situation: agencies MOSCOW - Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described the situation in Kosovo as "very alarming" and said Moscow did not accept Western claims that independence for the Serbian province was inevitable, Russian news agencies reported. "We cannot accept the incantation that this is a unique case, that independence is unavoidable," he said, quoted by Interfax and ITAR-TASS. "The situation is very alarming. It is only now that many of those who supported calls for a speedy proclamation of Kosovo's independence are starting to understand the possible consequences," he said. The comments came after the collapse of last gasp talks on Kosovo's status mediated by the European Union, Russia and the United States in the Austrian spa resort of Baden. Russia has consistently said that any resolution of the Serbian province's status should be acceptable to both sides in the dispute, meaning it must have the approval of Moscow's ally Belgrade. Wednesday's talks were seen as a final attempt to settle the conundrum of Kosovo, the last contentious issue left over from the 1990s wars that shattered Yugoslavia. Russia's role is crucial as it could use its status as a permanent member of the Security Council to block any UN approval of Kosovo independence. Moscow has close cultural ties with Serbia and vehemently opposed the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
