http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSL0626729920080206
Reuters February 6, 2008 Russia warns EU, NATO of "illegal" Kosovo moves by Paul Taylor -"[T]he moment KFOR starts violating (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1244 hypothetically by using force against Kosovo Serbs protesting over a unilateral declaration of independence would be the moment KFOR would be crossing the line." BRUSSELS - Russia warned the European Union and NATO on Wednesday that their presence in Kosovo would be illegal if they acted in support of a self-proclaimed independent state. Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said the EU had no basis in international law to deploy a police and justice mission in the breakaway Serbian province, since that required a United Nations mandate. Moscow has backed Belgrade's refusal to allow Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority their own state, blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have granted the territory supervised independence. "Any attempt to circumvent the U.N. Security Council would put the EU mission on a very shaky legal basis," Chizhov told a news conference. He said the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo known as KFOR would be in breach of its U.N. mandate if for example it intervened to put down protests by Kosovo's Serb minority against a declaration of independence. Both the EU and NATO consider that U.N. Security Council resolution 1244, adopted in 1999 after NATO bombing drove Serb troops out of Kosovo, provides adequate legal basis for the continued presence of outside peacekeepers and overseers. The U.N. Security Council has not taken a position on this. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders have said they intend to declare independence within weeks but will time their move in coordination with Washington and Brussels. Chizhov said the United States appeared to have already given a green light "but that means additional responsibility lies with Brussels", adding Moscow was not giving up hope of preventing such an outcome and was using all diplomatic means. "My personal judgment would be that the moment KFOR starts violating (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1244 hypothetically by using force against Kosovo Serbs protesting over a unilateral declaration of independence would be the moment KFOR would be crossing the line," he said. He noted that several EU member states such as Ireland needed a U.N. mandate to take part in peacekeeping operations. Chizhov said Moscow would prevent Kosovo from joining the United Nations or other international bodies such as the Council of Europe or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, although he acknowledged that Pristina might have access to major international financial institutions. He said recognition by EU states of an independent Kosovo would strain relations between Russia and the bloc, creating a negative precedent, but he did not threaten specific retaliation and ruled out using Russian energy supplies as a lever. "I can only guess that with those countries that recognize, this will be a thorn in our political dialogue. With those that don't, it will not be a thorn," he said. (Editing by Ingrid Melander) Serbian News Network - SNN news@antic.org http://www.antic.org/