Russia warns West over Kosovo

2008-02-22 18:12

Moscow - Russia on Friday blamed supporters of Kosovo's independence for triggering embassy attacks in Belgrade and warned Nato and the European Union against setting a precedent for "brute force" in Kosovo.

The rhetoric from the Russian foreign ministry and Moscow's envoy to Nato was part of a high-level diplomatic campaign by Russia to block international recognition of Kosovo's independence.

"What happened yesterday in Belgrade can only be a cause for regret," foreign ministry spokesperson Mikhail Kamynin was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency, referring to riots in the Serbian capital.

"But we would like to point out that those forces that supported Kosovo's proclamation of independence should have been aware of the consequences of such a step," he continued.

Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has vehemently opposed Kosovo's independence declaration, reflecting Moscow's close ties with the leadership in Belgrade.

Since Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian majority declared independence on February 17, Russia has tried and failed to get the UN Security Council to declare the move null and void.

Moscow's newly-appointed representative to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, scaled up the rhetoric further on Friday, saying that support for Kosovo from the EU or Nato would give Russia the right to use "brute force".

'Armed force'

"If the European Union works out a common position, or if Nato breaches its mandate in Kosovo, these organisations will be in conflict with the United Nations," Rogozin was quoted as saying in a video link-up from Brussels.

"We too would then have to proceed from the view that in order to be respected we must use brute force, in other words armed force," Rogozin said, Interfax news agency reported.

The EU does not have a common position on whether or not to recognise Kosovo, leaving the choice up to individual member states.

Rogozin also said he had received unconfirmed reports that Nato troops stationed in Kosovo were blocking the border with Serbia.

"This is not what we agreed. If this information is confirmed, then here in Brussels there will be some tough talking with our partners, and there could be quite a dramatic development in relations between Russia and Nato," he said.

Nato 'must not get involved'

Nato "must not in any way get involved with politics and must instead do what it has done up until now: take a neutral position of non-interference in internal affairs," he added.

Meanwhile, a Russian pro-Kremlin youth group said that some of its members planned to take part in a demonstration by Serbs in the ethnically-divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica in northern Kosovo.

The activists "have gone to support the Serbs but they did not take part in the riots" in Belgrade on Thursday, Alexei Khudyakov, a member of the Young Russia group, told Echo of Moscow radio.

- AFP