Daily: Ambassador incident could have serious implications

Moscow-based daily Izvestia says an incident involving Russian Ambassador Alexandr Konuzin could have “serious implications” on the Russian-Serbian relations. The daily said Konuzin had taken offence after he had been interrupted in the middle of his speech at the First Belgrade Security Forum the week before. Izvestia added the incident had made the Russian ambassador leave the meeting. Daily: Ambassador incident could have serious implications The daily said that it had been “a major diplomatic incident with serious implications on the Russian-Serbian relations.” In her statement for Izvestia, Russian Embassy in Belgrade Press Secretary Svetlana Shevchenko did not mention the exact words that had made the ambassador leave the meeting, but said, however, that the rebuttals by the meeting's chair had been aggressive and unacceptable for an address to an ambassador of a sovereign country. The article further said that the chairman, Ivan Vejvoda, who served as the foreign affairs advisor to assassinated Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic, was known for his radical pro-Western viewpoint and was committed to bringing Serbia closer to the U.S. and NATO. Forum’s Spokeswoman Ivana Ponjavic told Izvestia that the organizers had had no intention of provoking or giving offence to the Russian ambassador. “Mr. Konuzin deviated from the (meeting's) topic in his speech. Instead of speaking on the topic 'Global Security Challenges' he spoke about the situation in Kosovo,” said Ponjavic. Participants in the Belgrade Security Forum said that Konuzin’s move at the meeting had been unacceptably harsh and inappropriate for a diplomatic representative of a country such as Russia. Aleksandr Konuzin (Tanjug, file)

Daily: Ambassador incident could have serious implications

The daily said that it had been “a major diplomatic incident with serious implications on the Russian-Serbian relations.”

In her statement for Izvestia, Russian Embassy in Belgrade Press Secretary Svetlana Shevchenko did not mention the exact words that had made the ambassador leave the meeting, but said, however, that the rebuttals by the meeting's chair had been aggressive and unacceptable for an address to an ambassador of a sovereign country.

The article further said that the chairman, Ivan Vejvoda, who served as the foreign affairs advisor to assassinated Serbian prime minister Zoran Đinđić, was known for his radical pro-Western viewpoint and was committed to bringing Serbia closer to the U.S. and NATO.

Forum’s Spokeswoman Ivana Ponjavić told Izvestia that the organizers had had no intention of provoking or giving offence to the Russian ambassador.

“Mr. Konuzin deviated from the (meeting's) topic in his speech. Instead of speaking on the topic 'Global Security Challenges' he spoke about the situation in Kosovo,” said Ponjavić.

Participants in the Belgrade Security Forum said that Konuzin’s move at the meeting had been unacceptably harsh and inappropriate for a diplomatic representative of a country such as Russia.