RUSSIA: Russian FM Sergei Lavrov says not prepared to change position on Kosovo or missile shield in Europe

Moscow will not bargain over Kosovo or the U.S. plans for a Missile Shield, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday (September 3). In a speech to students at the Moscow State Institute of International Affairs, he said Russian opposition to Kosovo's bid for independence from Serbia and to the U.S. plan to station parts of a missile shield in eastern Europe was non-negotiable. In the interests of security Russia had drawn "red lines" which it would not cross on these two issues, Lavrov said. "It must be understood that we have red lines, that is where our national security or the world order is threatened," Lavrov said. "Russia is not bargaining and our partners should understand this," he added. Russia has strongly opposed a Western-backed proposal to set Kosovo on the path to independence from Belgrade. It says it will accept only a solution on the province's status backed by both Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority. Washington says its missile defence shield is needed to protect against possible rocket strikes from what it calls "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea. But Russia says the shield is a threat to its own security. It has proposed an alternative scheme that would involve Moscow and Washington sharing radar data to create a collective missile defence system.

ITN Source | September 3, 2007

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