Rice calls for peace in Kosovo

2008-03-18 19:06

Moscow - On Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on all sides involved in the recent violence in Kosovo to refrain from further violence and avoid any "provocation".

"I think we do agree that all sides should refrain from violence and that all sides should refrain from any provocation.

"And we're sending a message to all sides appropriately," Rice said after talks with top Russian officials.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Moscow's opposition to Kosovo independence and said the rights of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo were being ignored.

Ethnic Serbs felt like "strangers" in their own country, Lavrov said.

A UN policeman died and more than 150 people were wounded on Monday in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica in clashes between international security forces and Serbs opposed to Kosovo's independence declaration.

Russia has blamed the violence on the proclamation of independence by Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian majority and has accused NATO peacekeepers of using excessive force during the clashes.

- AFP