http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h226uWY3bcl9aRcMsVU67ZYt6c8A
Agence France-Presse December 17, 2007 Russia warns the West over Kosovo independence MOSCOW — Russia warned Monday that Kosovo could slip into "uncontrollable crisis," ahead of a UN Security Council showdown over the Serbian province's Western-backed push for independence. Throwing down the gauntlet, the foreign ministry warned in a statement that the "indulgence" of some countries in allowing Kosovo to move towards independence could have "serious negative consequences" for stability. "The situation is threatening to slip towards an uncontrollable crisis if international law is not upheld" and any decision on the future status of Kosovo must only be taken within the UN Security Council, the ministry said. A total 18 months of internationally mediated talks on Kosovo's future status ended in failure on December 10. Serbia, backed by Russia, has demanded further negotiations, but the leaders of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority say the process has been exhausted and insist they will make a unilateral declaration of independence within weeks. Belgrade is staunchly opposed to independence, insisting the province is a historic Serbian heartland, but a core group of European countries and Washington are prepared to recognise a breakaway Kosovo. EU leaders decided on December 14 to deploy around 1,800 police and prosecutors to Kosovo to help oversee any transition, while at the same time offering the carrot of "accelerated" EU entry to Belgrade. Russia's diplomatic envoy for Kosovo, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, warned Monday that the police mission would be illegal without UN approval. "It needs a legal basis....There needs to be a decision by the Security Council to change the international presence" Botsan-Kharchenko, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. Kosovo has been administered by the UN since NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 to end a crackdown on separatist ethnic-Albanians, and the province's Albanian majority has been impatient for independence ever since. The UN Security Council is to hold a crucial meeting on Wednesday to discuss the implications of a report by US, EU and Russian mediators on the failure of the last round of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade. The Serbian delegation at the closed-door meeting will be lead by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica who reiterated the demand for further negotiations before he left Monday for New York. "We can negotiate (further), and we are ready for a compromise, but Serbia has to remain in its entirety," Kostunica was quoted as saying by Tanjug news agency. Warning against any "one-sided act to create a puppet" state on Serbian soil, Kostunica said independence would violate Serbia's new constitution. The constitution, which stresses that Kosovo is an "integral" part of Serbia, was narrowly approved at an October 2006 referendum in which Belgrade barred the participation of Kosovo Albanian voters. Kosovo Albanians will be represented at the UN talks by prime minister-designate Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu, who will be the first to address the UN body in his role. "I will ask for the overall support of UN Security Council member states and other states in bilateral meetings that we will have," Sejdiu said on Sunday. "It is good that I will speak on behalf of Kosovo, its people and institutions, about everything that we have achieved so far and about our vision for the future of Kosovo," the Pristina daily Zeri cited him as saying. ------------------------------------------------------ http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1381550.php/Lavrov_Ko sovo_situation_has_reached_crisis_point Deutsche Presse-Agentur December 17, 2007 Lavrov: Kosovo situation has reached crisis point Moscow - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has declared that the conflict over independence for the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo has reached crisis point, Interfax news agency reported Monday. As the UN Security Council began Monday to work on a report by the so-called Troika of the EU, the US and Russian mediators, Lavrov reiterated Russia's position that 'recognition of a unilateral proclamation of independence by Kosovo would violate international law.' The Troika, which had been given a December 10 deadline for its report, has said that its mission has failed because neither Belgrade nor Pristina were willing to give way on the fundamental question of sovereignty over Kosovo. Belgrade adamantly insists on sovereignty over the province, while Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority is expected to declare independence in 2008. But it has vowed not to do so without US and European Union approval. Russia, which supports Belgrade's claim, resents what it sees as Western support for Kosovo's plan to break away. 'The UN negotiations are plagued by underhanded manoeuvres, which aim to break negotations and acquiesce to the de-facto legitimization of [Kosovo's] future illegal steps,' Lavrov said on Monday. Russia fears that Kosovar independence will prove a destabilizing force encouraging ethnic separatist movements in other regions. Lavrov warned that unilateral recognition of Kosovo's independence would not come 'without consequences,' saying such a move could trigger a domino-effect in the Balkans and other regions. =============== Group Moderator: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
