"Kosovo partition not discussed"

Former Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Aleksandr Alekseyev "no important official" has said lately that a partition of Kosovo was realistic. He told Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti that such an outcome had been discussed a long time ago, and "even during negotiations in Rambouillet", prior to NATO's attack on Serbia in 1999. "Kosovo partition not discussed" “I heard not only about a partition of Kosovo but also about the exchange of territories. That’s even more delicate,” the former ambassador says. “It should not be expected from Russia to give a suggestion regarding that, because it is a very complex issue,” said Alekseyev, who now heads the Russian Foreign Ministry European Department, and has recently been made Russia's ambassador to Poland. He pointed out that Moscow’s position regarding Kosovo had not changed after the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Russia would support Serbia in its request to have the issue of Kosovo discussed by the UN General Assembly. Alekseyev praised the work of the Serbian diplomacy, assessing that it was positive that relations between Belgrade and Zagreb had normalized and added that the stability of the Balkans depended on the Serbian-Croatian relations.

"Kosovo partition not discussed"

“I heard not only about a partition of Kosovo but also about the exchange of territories. That’s even more delicate,” the former ambassador says.

“It should not be expected from Russia to give a suggestion regarding that, because it is a very complex issue,” said Alekseyev, who now heads the Russian Foreign Ministry European Department, and has recently been made Russia's ambassador to Poland.

He pointed out that Moscow’s position regarding Kosovo had not changed after the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Russia would support Serbia in its request to have the issue of Kosovo discussed by the UN General Assembly.

Alekseyev praised the work of the Serbian diplomacy, assessing that it was positive that relations between Belgrade and Zagreb had normalized and added that the stability of the Balkans depended on the Serbian-Croatian relations.