UNITED NATIONS: Russia rejects West's U.N. plan on Kosovo's future

Russia has rejected a European-American plan for the future of Kosovo. The Russian response on Monday (July 16) to a revised U.N. Security Council draft leaves the West in a quandary. It can either call a vote that Moscow would veto or move ahead on an independence route for Kosovo outside of the 15-member council. Moscow's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said the text was a stealth move toward independence, despite its call for 120 days of further talks between Belgrade and Pristina. He said the resolution's chances of adoption are "zero." "Almost the entire text and maybe particularly the annexes are permeated with the concept of the independence of Kosovo," Churkin said. Kosovo, where 90 percent of the two million people are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs forced out Serb troops that were killing and expelling Albanians in a two-year war with guerrillas. Substituting European representatives for the United Nations in Kosovo would reduce the influence of the Security Council, and by extension Russia, an ally of Serbia. France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, speaking on behalf of the sponsors, told reporters it was difficult to guess what to do after four months of negotiations should the resolution be adopted. He said the sponsors would consult with their capitals. If Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement, the council could adopt a resolution endorsing it. If they did not, members would have to review what to do next. "We cannot say today. We do not know," de la Sabliere said. In the meantime, he said, those who had influence on either party "had to push" for a solution. But Churkin said a review was not good enough and the council would have to make a decision at the end of any negotiating period, not just discuss the issue. Western diplomats said Russia was not negotiating on the text so they would have to consult with their respective governments on the next step. Earlier drafts also called for 120 days of renewed talks but had included an automatic trigger of a plan by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari that would lead to Kosovo's independence. The new and third draft drops the trigger but puts in place the European framework proposed by Ahtisaari. But it no longer calls for Kosovo's membership in international bodies.

ITN Source | July 17, 2007

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