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Russian Foreign Minister Blasts UN Kosovo Envoy
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Friday that the U.N. envoy for Kosovo is biased, responding to his remarks that Russia would diminish its international stature if it were to block talks on Kosovo’s future.
“I would say it is out of place,” Sergey Lavrov told reporters referring to the statement. “If such a statement lowers someone’s international status, it is not Russia’s.”
The Russian foreign policy chief was responding to published remarks by U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari that said Russia would diminish its international stature if it were to block negotiations on Kosovo’s status.
The row came amid a standoff between Russia and the United States over a U.N. Security Council resolution on Kosovo’s future. Moscow says it will support a decision that will be approved by Serbia which opposes independence for the breakaway province. Russia warned it would veto Kosovo’s independence at a U.N. Security Council vote.
In April, Mr. Ahtisaari recommended Kosovo be granted internationally supervised independence – a move welcomed by the province’s ethnic Albanians.
This week, France and Britain circulated a new draft resolution that sees Kosovo independent in 120 days while talks are underway.
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