Byzantine Blog

Lavrov: Time and Direct Talks the Only Way to Lasting Solution

Russia believes that direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina are the only way to resolve the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Potsdam on Wednesday.

The day-long meeting of foreign ministers of the world’s richest nations, designed to fine-tune the political agenda for the Group of Eight Summit hosted by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm from June 6-8, took place in the Potsdam’s Cecilienhof hotel.

According to the Western reports, while Western diplomats said they had expected no major breakthrough over southern Serbian province at the Potsdam meeting, they later claimed they were “surprised by the tough stance” of Russia. Minister Lavrov asked his Western colleagues why they were in such a hurry to grant independence to Serbian Kosovo province, while for 40 years they had never supported or worked on granting independence to Palestine.

Minister Lavrov said that Belgrade and Pristina need time to continue the talks and that only when the sides reach an agreement, in case of Serbia as in all the other similar cases around the world, it is possible to support what they agree to. The most important thing is that the Serbs and Pristina’s representatives of Albanian minority have to talk, said Lavrov, adding that no crisis may be solved without reaching an agreement. Underscoring that the talks have yet to produce results, Minister Lavrov said that Russia’s partners within the Group 8 are aware of Moscow’s stand.

“The fate of Kosovo and the fate of Serbia as a whole should not be decided in New York, Potsdam or within any other formats. It should be done through direct talks,” Russia’s Foreign Minister said.

Lavrov stressed that the “Kosovo case” is not the only such conflict among those that are being discussed for years and that it is the most important conflict under the control of the international community, that could set a dangerous precedent for a number of other regions in the world.

Stands of US, Russia On Kosovo-Metohija Province Irreconcilable

The stands of Russia and the United States on Kosovo are diametrically opposite and there is no way that they could be reconciled, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Potsdam on Wednesday, as quoted by the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Addressing a press conference following a meeting of the G8 foreign ministers, Lavrov expressed hope that “Russia won’t have to exercise its right to veto” on Serbian Kosovo province in the United Nations Security Council, Itar-Tass said.

“But there must be no situation where the UN Security Council supports a resolution that is unacceptable to one of the parties in the conflict,” Russian Foreign Minister was quoted by the news agency as saying, adding that “Russia wants a lasting solution to be found for Kosovo province.”