Russia Urges UN Mission to Ensure Security of Staff in Russian Office in Pristina

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia calls on the United Nations Mission in Kosovo to guarantee security for the employees in the Russian office in Pristina, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, said on Saturday.

"We call on the UN Mission in Kosovo and the International forces in Kosovo within their power according to the resolution 1244 to ensure reliable security and necessary conditions for the work of the personnel of the Russian Chancellery in Pristina. We are waiting for the pursuant written guarantees from the UN administration," Zakharova said in a statement.

She also said that Pristina's actions against Russian diplomats do not entail any consequences for their legal status as they are accredited with the UN Mission in Kosovo.

"We assume that this attack by the administration in Pristina does not entail consequences for the legal status of the mentioned Russian diplomatic personnel. Under international law and the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, fundamental for the Kosovo settlement, they are accredited with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and have nothing to do with the structures of this self-proclaimed 'state'," Zakharova noted.

"We hope that this defiant behaviour of the Kosovo leaders will receive due critical assessment from our settlement partners," Zakharova said in a statement.

The spokeswoman further called the actions of the Kosovo leadership a "targeted provocation" that is part of aggressive policy against Russia.

On Friday, the president of self-proclaimed Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said that she was "expelling" two Pristina-based Russian diplomats accredited to the diplomatic mission in Serbia over their alleged "harmful influence" in the region.

The Russian Embassy in Serbia said earlier that it did not recognise Pristina's decisions and condemned the attempts to prevent Russian diplomats accredited with UNMIK from carrying out their legitimate activities as absolutely unacceptable. Pristina's move was described in the statement as "a provocation against Russian diplomats."