Russian ambassador accuses EULEX of exceeding mandate

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin has accused EULEX of halting the Russian aid convoy out of political reasons. “The humanitarian operation was stopped due to political reasons. If there had not been for EULEX we would have delivered the humanitarian aid on December 13, just like we planned,” he told a press conference in Belgrade after he had returned from Kosovo on Friday evening. Russian ambassador accuses EULEX of exceeding mandate He assessed the humanitarian situation in Kosovo as “poor” and said that he had received “a series of letters” from northern Kosovo Serbs asking for help. Konuzin added that Serbs in Leposavic and other towns were facing power outages, that there was not enough electric energy and that the generators donated by Russia were therefore more than welcome. “We had an impression that people saw us as their last hope. They don’t see anybody else around them who can help them, they only see those who want to expel them from their territory,” the Russian ambassador stressed. Commenting on his visit to northern Kosovo, he said he believed that existence of the local Serbian institutions and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) was important for survival of the Serbs in that area. “Everywhere where self-government organs have been destroyed Serbs have left and are leaving,” Konuzin added. He accused EULEX of stepping out of its mandate and that it was trying to implement the Ahtisaari plan in northern Kosovo despite the fact that the plan had not been supported by the UN Security Council. “EULEX has low efficiency. They are carrying out the Ahtisaari plan that has not been accepted by the UN Security Council and they have exceeded their mandate,” the ambassador said and added that EULEX was not status neutral. Konuzin pointed out that Russia was not going to change its policy toward Kosovo and that it would continue to support Serbia, especially in the UN Security Council. He added that Russia had allocated USD 2mn for reconstruction of churches and monasteries in Kosovo that had been destroyed in 2004. Commenting on the Agreement on Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties signed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, the Russian official said he did not know what kind of heritage Kosovo Albanians had in Kosovo. “I have not seen their monuments. They tear down other people’s and then they want to say they are theirs, while someone is helping them snatch the heritage from the Orthodox people. We are trying to renew this heritage,” he underscored. Aleksandr Konuzin (Tanjug, file)

Russian ambassador accuses EULEX of exceeding mandate

He assessed the humanitarian situation in Kosovo as “poor” and said that he had received “a series of letters” from northern Kosovo Serbs asking for help.

Konuzin added that Serbs in Leposavić and other towns were facing power outages, that there was not enough electric energy and that the generators donated by Russia were therefore more than welcome.

“We had an impression that people saw us as their last hope. They don’t see anybody else around them who can help them, they only see those who want to expel them from their territory,” the Russian ambassador stressed.

Commenting on his visit to northern Kosovo, he said he believed that existence of the local Serbian institutions and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) was important for survival of the Serbs in that area.

“Everywhere where self-government organs have been destroyed Serbs have left and are leaving,” Konuzin added.

He accused EULEX of stepping out of its mandate and that it was trying to implement the Ahtisaari plan in northern Kosovo despite the fact that the plan had not been supported by the UN Security Council.

“EULEX has low efficiency. They are carrying out the Ahtisaari plan that has not been accepted by the UN Security Council and they have exceeded their mandate,” the ambassador said and added that EULEX was not status neutral.

Konuzin pointed out that Russia was not going to change its policy toward Kosovo and that it would continue to support Serbia, especially in the UN Security Council.

He added that Russia had allocated USD 2mn for reconstruction of churches and monasteries in Kosovo that had been destroyed in 2004.

Commenting on the Agreement on Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties signed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, the Russian official said he did not know what kind of heritage Kosovo Albanians had in Kosovo.

“I have not seen their monuments. They tear down other people’s and then they want to say they are theirs, while someone is helping them snatch the heritage from the Orthodox people. We are trying to renew this heritage,” he underscored.