“Russia will not barter over Kosovo”

Aleksandr Alekseyev says that Serbia’s proposal of the Hong Kong principle for Kosovo "opens new possibilities". The Russian ambassador to Serbia told daily Politika that Moscow had never set political conditions for support over the Kosovo crisis, and never would. “Russia will not barter over Kosovo” He added that Moscow had repeated on all levels, many times, that “Kosovo cannot be bartered over.” “We have to take a decision; either we stay within the bounds of international law or we violate it and use other measures within the conflict-resolution system,” he said. “We keep hearing that ‘a reality exists’ with the second scenario. If we agree to recognize Kosovo independence, then we should recognize independence in other regions. It is clear the kind of consequences this would have,” Alekseyev said, adding that the claim that Kosovo would not set a precedent did not stand up to criticism. He said that “no one wants to see the Kosovo situation solved outside the negotiating process.” “Among those that are able to locate Kosovo on a map - which means, among experts - there’s an ever decreasing number of people that think a unilateral proclamation and recognition of Kosovo independence would go through peacefully,” Alekseyev said. He added that in the last several years “it has been shown that Serbia and Russia need to be strategic partners in everything.” “There are areas where Russia is not only a strategic partner, but Serbia’s only partner. That is why I think that our Serb friends have an objective interest in developing relations with Russia, without any pressure from our side,” he concluded. Also on Thursday, Alekseyev participated in a panel organized in Kosovska Mitrovica, when he said that the Kosovo issue cannot be resolved as a unique case, and added that official Moscow will react "adequately" in the event of a unilateral proclamation of the province's independence. For the Russian Federation and its state leadership, the question of Kosovo is more complicated than simply the choice of whether to support the Serbs or Kosovo Albanians, he said. Russia believes that the question of Kosovo cannot be looked on as an exception, because it is not one, the ambassador said. Alekseyev added that international law is valid for all and that the only choice is whether to respect or violate it. "Should the option be to violate international law, then all the possible political, and not only political, consequences for such a big mistake must be taken into consideration," Alekseyev said. In the event that the Kosovo parliament should unilaterally proclaim independence after Dec 10, Russia's reaction will be adequate, Alekseyev said, adding that he could not be more precise "for understandable reasons." Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic was also present at the gathering, and said that the international community "cannot simply get out of the situation in this province, for which it is responsible, by giving ethnic Albanians the gift of independence." "The international community does not deny that Kosovo and Metohija province is a part of Serbia under international law, but they claim that in fact Kosmet has not been under the administration of Serbia for the past eight years," he said. "The actual reality of Kosovo in fact also includes many other things, such as ethnic cleansing, vandal destruction of cultural monuments, churches and monasteries, usurping of property, and expulsion of people," Samardzic said. "Faced with such a reality, should the international community really reward those who did all this with nothing less than independence," the minister wondered. Ambassador Aleksandr Alekseyev (FoNet, archive)

“Russia will not barter over Kosovo”

He added that Moscow had repeated on all levels, many times, that “Kosovo cannot be bartered over.”

“We have to take a decision; either we stay within the bounds of international law or we violate it and use other measures within the conflict-resolution system,” he said.

“We keep hearing that ‘a reality exists’ with the second scenario. If we agree to recognize Kosovo independence, then we should recognize independence in other regions. It is clear the kind of consequences this would have,” Alekseyev said, adding that the claim that Kosovo would not set a precedent did not stand up to criticism.

He said that “no one wants to see the Kosovo situation solved outside the negotiating process.”

“Among those that are able to locate Kosovo on a map - which means, among experts - there’s an ever decreasing number of people that think a unilateral proclamation and recognition of Kosovo independence would go through peacefully,” Alekseyev said.

He added that in the last several years “it has been shown that Serbia and Russia need to be strategic partners in everything.”

“There are areas where Russia is not only a strategic partner, but Serbia’s only partner. That is why I think that our Serb friends have an objective interest in developing relations with Russia, without any pressure from our side,” he concluded.

Also on Thursday, Alekseyev participated in a panel organized in Kosovska Mitrovica, when he said that the Kosovo issue cannot be resolved as a unique case, and added that official Moscow will react "adequately" in the event of a unilateral proclamation of the province's independence.

For the Russian Federation and its state leadership, the question of Kosovo is more complicated than simply the choice of whether to support the Serbs or Kosovo Albanians, he said.

Russia believes that the question of Kosovo cannot be looked on as an exception, because it is not one, the ambassador said.

Alekseyev added that international law is valid for all and that the only choice is whether to respect or violate it.

"Should the option be to violate international law, then all the possible political, and not only political, consequences for such a big mistake must be taken into consideration," Alekseyev said.

In the event that the Kosovo parliament should unilaterally proclaim independence after Dec 10, Russia's reaction will be adequate, Alekseyev said, adding that he could not be more precise "for understandable reasons."

Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardžić was also present at the gathering, and said that the international community "cannot simply get out of the situation in this province, for which it is responsible, by giving ethnic Albanians the gift of independence."

"The international community does not deny that Kosovo and Metohija province is a part of Serbia under international law, but they claim that in fact Kosmet has not been under the administration of Serbia for the past eight years," he said.

"The actual reality of Kosovo in fact also includes many other things, such as ethnic cleansing, vandal destruction of cultural monuments, churches and monasteries, usurping of property, and expulsion of people," Samardžić said.

"Faced with such a reality, should the international community really reward those who did all this with nothing less than independence," the minister wondered.