Holbrooke: Violence could explode in Kosovo

Holbrooke: Violence could explode in Kosovo

Holbrooke told reporters the plan for supervised independence drafted by Martti Ahtisaari was “the best possible solution under the circumstances.”

"If the Russians delay or dilute or veto it, then I'm afraid the long pent-up desire of the Albanians in Kosovo for a rapid move toward independence will explode into violence," he said.

Holbrooke was in Brussels for a closed-door meeting of the Trilateral Commission of business and opinion leaders from the United States, Europe and Asia.

"The Russians should be aware of the consequences of their actions in New York," he said, accusing Moscow of emboldening hardliners in Belgrade by saying it would not support any plan the Serbians oppose.

“Russia has reasons to use veto”

Russia has enough reasons to use right of veto at the UN Security Council during a Kosovo vote, according to Andrei Kokoshin.

Kokoshin, head of the Russian Duma committee for the affairs of CIS, was quoted by Itar-Tass as adding that “Russia has as many reasons, as Serbia, to be dissatisfied with the Ahtisaari plan, whose mission has been exhausted.”

“Russia has enough reasons for using to the full its right of veto at the U.N. Security Council,” Kokoshin stressed.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said previously that Moscow regarded the decision of Martti Ahtisaari, special representative of the UN Secretary-General, to suspend the talks and to forward his conclusions to the UN as “premature”.

“It is important to continue impartial consultations and to steadily expand the sphere of agreement between the negotiating parties in the interests of finding solutions to the problems on the basis of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and principles of international law,” Kokoshin said.