Contact Group meets in Moscow

Contact Group meets in Moscow

Lavrov said Thursday that Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for Kosovo had failed because it was not based on the interests of both sides.

Speaking at a news conference after a meeting with Koštunica, Lavrov advocated a compromise solution for Kosovo that would be acceptable for both Belgrade and Priština, Beta reports.

He added that the international community should be helping the two sides come closer to this goal.

"As for other conflicts, such efforts sometimes yield results and sometimes do not, like in the case with the plan (of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, in 2004,) for Cyprus and with Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo," Lavrov said.

"The reason for their failure is the fact that they did not take into consideration the interests of one of the sides, and that they represented an attempt to impose a unilateral solution," he added.

Asked whether Russia would veto the resolution on Kosovo in the Security Council, Lavrov said that there was still no draft resolution and that Russia would make a decision when a draft solution is made.

However, at an earlier news conference on April 19, held after the ministerial meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Belgrade, Lavrov dismissed a possibility for Russia to take part in the adoption of a Security Council resolution on Kosovo that would not be acceptable for Serbia.

"We would never be part of a decision that does not have support from all sides in any conflict. Absolutely the same criteria apply to Kosovo," Lavrov said.

According to him, a UN fact-finding mission that will visit Belgrade and Priština next week will enable its members to witness the state of affairs in Kosovo and the level of implementation of Resolution 1244.

“The UN Resolution 1244, adopted on the basis of consensus, is not being implemented,” Lavrov said, adding that the Council was obliged to ensure that its previous decisions were fully implemented before taking new action.

The mission is scheduled to arrive in Belgrade on April 26, and visit Priština the following day, Britain's ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry told the press.