Byzantine Blog

President Putin: Kosovo-Metohija Integral Part of Serbia

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said in Vienna that the future status of Kosovo-Metohija has to be resolved through an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, and in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which underscores that Kosovo province is an integral part of Serbia.

“Our position is based on the international principles, such as the principle of territorial integrity and the earlier United Nations resolutions, primarily Resolution 1244, which underscores that Kosovo is integral part of Serbia,” stressed Putin after the talks with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, according to Tanjug.

President Putin said Russia’s position is straightforward and clear: “If the parties involved believe those principles should be changed, that is possible, but the solution must not be imposed — it can only be a result of a dialogue and acceptable to both sides,” emphasized Putin at the Vienna news conference.

Pointing out that existing international laws and principles have to be respected, President Putin expressed hope that mutually acceptable solution will be found through the active participation of all interested parties.

Hasty Solution for Kosovo-Metohija Leads to Escalation

A hasty solution for Kosovo-Metohija province, without taking into account international law, could lead to an escalation of the situation, cautioned on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a session of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna, Tanjug reports.

Lavrov in his address to the OSCE executive body, in a closed part of the session, did not directly mention southern Serbian province, but he reminded that the main principle of international relations had to be the rule of law, that these principles must not be torn down, as attempted in Serbia where double standards are used, he said.

Russian Foreign Minister, in the discussions following the speeches of diplomatic representatives of OSCE members, particularly in response to the speech by the U.S. representative who emphasized that “the current status quo in Kosovo was untenable” and that “a solution should be adopted as soon as possible,” drew attention to terrorist attacks that occurred in Turkey and that are occurring around the world.

“A hasty solution would only bring about an escalation of the situation,” Lavrov underlined in relation to Kosovo-Metohija province.

OSCE’s Principal Document, Helsinki Final Act, Does Not Allow Dismemberment of Serbian State

Serbia’s Ambassador to OSCE, Miroslava Beham, said it was wrong to believe that Russian support for Serbia regarding its Kosovo province is a result of Belgrade’s turning away from the European Union.

“Both Russia and Serbia are already European and cannot drift away from Europe. If EU is meant as entire Europe, then it is necessary for Russian Federation and EU to be brought together, which would complete the process of uniting the old continent, begun after so many decades of divisions, ” she said.

Pointing to the Helsinki Final Act as the principal OSCE document which guarantees the states’ territorial integrity and border inviolability, Serbia’s Ambassador warned that part of the international community advocates secession of Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province contrary to the will of Serbia and seizure of 15 percent of its territory.

“This is entirely unacceptable and represents a dangerous precedent,” stressed Ambassador Beham, emphasizing that the only tenable solution for Kosovo province is the one achieved through mutual agreement. She added it was necessary to continue the talks that would be based on international laws and European values.

Kosovo Province Precedent to Incite Separatism Throughout the World

Professor of ethnic conflict analysis at the state-run Vrije University in Brussel, Bruno Coppieters, today confirmed that Russia and Serbia are correct in claiming forceful seizure of part of Serbian territory would create a dangerous precedent secessionists around the world intend to use to dismember other states along the ethnic minority lines.

The resolution of the Kosovo-Metohija status will have a major influence on separatist conflicts in the world, because the protagonists of those conflicts will try to politically manipulate and to use Kosovo precedent for their objectives, Professor Coppieters has assessed in an interview for Tanjug in Brussels.

Suggested imposed detachment of part of Serbian territory brings something completely new and it will change the way in which separatist conflicts will be discussed in future, said Coppieters, who published several dozen of scientific studies from the field of separatism, primarily dedicated to Caucus.

He pointed out that Abkhazia, for example, has more right to become independent than Serbian Kosovo province, even though Western powers insist that Serbian province is the only in the world that should be detached from the mother-state.