Russia: No to Ahtisaari’s Proposal
Russian State Duma opposes Ahtisaari’s Kosovo-Metohija province proposal.
Russia Will Veto Any Resolution Opposed by Serbia
EU Observer reports from Brussels on Friday, February 9, that “Russia has made clear it will veto any UN security council resolution that proposes Kosovo independence without Serb agreement.”
The Russian ambassador [to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov] also criticised the EU and US’ excessive focus on the sensitivities of Kosovo Albanians and the safety of international peacekeepers, suggesting the west is neglecting the rights of the Serbs [...]
“You cannot count on a solution that requires difficult choices for one side and easy choices for the other,” Mr Chizhov said. “Everybody is afraid of the Kosovo Albanians going ballistic, but nobody is talking about what the Serbs might do.”
“Let’s face it: UN resolution 1244 has been implemented only partially, only those parts that favour Kosovo Albanians,” he explained, giving the example of a UN mandate for a contingent of 999 Serb soldiers to guard Serb holy sites in Kosovo “which never materialised.”
Russian Defence Minister Rejects Ahtisaari’s Proposal
SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 9, 2007 — At a meeting of defence ministers from NATO’s 26 states in the southern Spanish city of Seville on Friday Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov rejected Ahtisaari’s proposal giving the southern Serbian province virtual independence.
“If we follow this way, we can in fact open a Pandora’s box and this can lead to unpredictable circumstances,” he warned.
According to the Associated Press, Russia’s Defence Minister cautioned that granting independence to southern Serbian province would “spark a chain reaction among other breakaway regions in Europe and the former Soviet Union.”
Russian State Duma: Security Council Cannot Approve Proposal Opposed by Serbia
MOSCOW, Russia, Feb. 7, 2007 (Tanjug) — Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee, stated today that it is inadmissible to have the United Nations Security Council approve any proposal on the future status of Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province that is not approved by Belgrade.
“For as long as Belgrade has objections to the proposal [of the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy Martti Ahtisaari], it must not be imposed upon Serbia and it must not be backed by the international community,” Kosachev said in his statement to Tanjug.
Pointing out that outside pressure is being intensified on Serbia and Russia alike, Kosachev underscored that Russia cannot have any other position but one — the plan has to be acceptable to Belgrade at least as much as it should be acceptable to Pristina.
Despite some indications that the issue of southern Serbian province should be included in the UN Security Council agenda, Kosachev said that it is too early for that.
Fyodorov: President Putin’s Position on Kosovo-Metohija is the Position of Entire Russian Nation
Belgrade/Moscow, Feb 7, 2007 — Following a meeting with Russian officials in Moscow, head of the Economic Team for Kosovo-Metohija and southern Serbia Nenad Popovic asserted that Russia rejects Ahtisaari’s proposal for the status of Kosovo-Metohja as unacceptable to Serbs.
According to a statement by the Economic Team, Russia opposes any decision which does not have Belgrade’s consent.
In talks with Deputy Chairman of the Russian Duma Konstantin Kosachev, Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref and President of the Chuvash Republic Nikolai Fyodorov, it was said once again that an imposed solution is unacceptable for Russia, said Popovic.
[...] Fyodorov said that the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin is the position of the entire Russian nation and that the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the most important in international law. He underlined that every imposed solution is a source of new instabilities and does not lead to the resolution of a crisis, the statement adds.