Tuesday, March 17, 2009

No U.S.-Russia reset button "only on Kosovo"

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin on Tuesday stated that Russia believes that Priština should fulfill the agreement reached between Belgrade and the UN.

The agreement is included in the six-point plan, the diplomat reminded, adding that "other partners are suggesting to Priština to ignore it".

The Kosovo Albanian authorities "may not cut a border between Serbia and Kosovo, it is illegal, as much as recognition of Kosovo's independence is illegal”, Konuzin said during an address delivered at Belgrade's Academy for Diplomacy and Security.

According to Tanjug news agency, the ambassador said that the EU mission, EULEX, "has done nothing in regards to this issue, EULEX deals only with implementing Ahtisaari's plan".

UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari drafted a plan of Kosovo's supervised independence which was not adopted by the UN and which Belgrade rejected.

Konuzin said that Kosovo is "the only problem" over which his country "cannot find any common points with the United States", but that official Moscow "does not intend to change its stand".

"Russia's position on Kosovo is determined in Belgrade," said the ambassador, adding that his country will continue to support the Serbian government's stand, "while the Serbian government will be responsible to the Serbian people".

He evaluated that there is intensive cooperation between Russia and Serbia reflected in continuous contacts among officials of the two countries and intensified economic cooperation.

Konuzin underlined that Serbia will have a guaranteed source of gas and will produce oil derivatives of European quality thanks to its partnership with Russia.

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