Russia to block any resolution on Kosovo status at UN Security Council

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will block any resolution on Kosovo's status at the UN Security Council until both parties have found a mutually acceptable settlement, Russia's envoy to the troika said Thursday.



"We are issuing an advance warning that we will not let any resolution based on the recognition of Kosovo's independence make it past the Security Council. We will only accept a resolution based on compromise and one that would be approved by Belgrade and Pristina," Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said.



He said no one could prevent Russia from exercising its veto, which is enjoyed by all permanent Security Council members.



Throughout long-lasting talks aimed at finding a solution to the status of Serbia's breakaway province, Russia has backed Belgrade in opposing Kosovo's sovereignty.



The Albanian-dominated Serbian province has been a UN protectorate since the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a conflict between Albanian and Serb forces in 1999.



The UN Security Council failed last year to bridge divisions over Kosovo's future. Belgrade is opposed to the region's independence, and has offered it broad autonomy within Serbia. Pristina wants full sovereignty, however.



The Security Council will discuss a report by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on January 16.



Russia said on Saturday the proclamation of the province's unilateral independence, without a relevant UN decision, would be unlawful.



A report of the Secretary-General on the UNMIK said that "while the Unity Team continued to attend the Troika-led talks, its representatives repeatedly stated that any further extension of talks would be unacceptable."



Most Western states have backed the volatile area's drive for independence, and said recently that Kosovo's status would now be determined by the European Union and NATO. Russia is insisting that Belgrade and Pristina continue to try to reach a compromise, RIA Novosti reports