Churkin: I did not leave Security Council session

Churkin: I did not leave Security Council session

Churkin said he attended the meeting to hear his colleagues’ opinions in their entirety before leaving the working part of the session, while his deputy stayed behind, arguing that his exit did not have the diplomatic weight assigned to it.

According to Churkin, Russia favors further talks and will not support a UN resolution for Kosovo that incorporates Martti Ahtisaari’s status plan.

“At this time in remains unclear how the other UN Security Council members will behave. I think we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that some of them will attempt to push for a quick adoption of the resolution, that would copy Ahtisaari’s plan. Obviously, Russia will oppose this,” Churkin said.

Churkin was reported yesterday as having stormed out of the UN Security Council regular session, after UNMIK Chief Joachim Ruecker briefed the assembly on UNMIK’s ongoing implementation of standards and the functioning of the temporary institutions in Kosovo.

Churkin accused Ruecker of “preaching for independence instead of discussing implementation of Resolution 1244.”

Martti Ahtisaari’s plan and the final status for the province are yet to be discussed at the UN Security Council. The session dedicated exclusively to this issue is expected to take place in April.

“Belgrade should look for solution, rather than status quo”

South-Eastern Europe Stability Pact official and former Serbian Foreign Minister Goran Svilanović told B92 he had an impression that Russia wanted to elude voting on the new Kosovo resolution.

“I’d say that Serbia and Russia have leveled their interests regarding Kosovo and directed the Kosovo debate towards the status quo,” Svilanović said.

“When it comes to broader geo-strategic interests, Belgrade and Kosovo cannot be put side by side. I believe that Russia cares about its good relations with the European Union and the United States, and Kosovo and Belgrade’s official position have emerged as an important factor in these relations,” Svilanović said.

“Kosovo has begun to divide the EU, and I think that Belgrade’s friends among the EU member states could face difficulties if Belgrade’s hard line position persisted and brought further divisions among the EU and its relations with America,” he added.

Svilanović stressed that Belgrade had to show “it was constructive and eager to seek a solution for Kosovo, and not the status quo.”

“Serbian government should decide on its platform for the UN Security Council,” Svilanović said adding that Serbia should not be regarded as a dividing factor that could affect the EU’s relations with the U.S.

If that were the case, Serbia might lose some of its friends and supporters in the West, Svilanović argued. On the other hand, Moscow will find other ways to realize its interests in its relations with the EU and the U.S.,” Svilanović concluded.