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/
