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Russia Says Definite No to Kosovo Draft of the West
Russia won’t back up the Kosovo draft resolution of Britain, France and the United States that was shaped based on the plan by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari and submitted to the U.N. Security Council Monday.
The Ahtisaari's plan that is so favored by the West and the United States actually grants independence to Kosovo without taking into account the standing of Serbia that is yet unready to yield the region.
But the negotiators made some concessions in the new draft. The document, for instance, no longer spells out that the resolution automatically takes effect on expiration of 120 days given for negotiations no matter whether Belgrade agrees to it.
Nevertheless, Moscow that pressurizes for tackling the problem based on the compromise of Belgrade and Pristine has made clear it won’t OK the draft. Instead, Russia calls for the new talks of Kosovo and Serbia that will involve a new envoy. It was Ahtisaari that headed the task force of intermediaries during Vienna negotiations in 2006.
“We think Ahtisaari’s plan has failed. It is necessary to hold new unbiased negotiations with a new unbiased negotiator,” Moscow’s U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters after the Monday meeting of Security Council.
www.kommersant.com
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