- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Prishtina's stance on Kosovo is unconstructive - Russian FM

Subscribe
STRASBOURG, May 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Kosovan leadership's intransigent attitude is delaying a solution over the status of the troubled Balkan territory, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.

Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a news conference in Strasbourg, said: "The position of Prishtina's leadership, which is insisting on the unequivocal independence of Kosovo, is very unconstructive."

Lavrov said a unilateral approach should not be taken to talks on Kosovo, and that negotiations must be held through the UN and the Contact Group.

Talks on the UN-administered territory's status should be concluded by the end of the year, a view that is shared by the six-nation Contact Group - the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy - Lavrov said.

Earlier, some Russian politicians expressed concern that independence for Kosovo would create a precedent for recognition of breakaway regions in the former Soviet Union.

Moldova is dealing with a separatist regime in Transdnestr, while Georgia has two breakaway regions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Nagorny Karabakh, a largely ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, has long been a source of friction between the two Caucasus states.

Formally part of Serbia, Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since 1999, following a NATO military campaign to drive out Yugoslav forces accused of atrocities against Albanian civilians.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала