Russian Foreign Ministry Says Western Inaction On Kosovo Breaches UN Resolution

 

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The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman criticized the European Union and the United States on Monday for being in breach of the 1999 UN resolution on Kosovo.

"NATO and EU contingents deployed to the area cannot and will not interfere in the events on the ground... condoning the escalation," Maria Zakharova said, referring to the standoff between peaceful protesters and Kosovo security forces.

Zakharova said that the EU's decision to ease travel to the bloc for Kosovo nationals and look into Kosovo's application for membership alongside demands from Brussels to remove barricades only encouraged the Kosovo authorities to crack down on people protesting arrests of ethnic Serbs.

The UN Security Council's resolution provided a framework for the resolution of the conflict in Kosovo by authorizing the deployment of an international civilian and military presence.

Zakharova said that tensions demonstrated that the West's departure from the existing regulations governing Kosovo had "only emboldened radicals in Pristina" and warned of a full-fledged conflict in the region, which Serbia sees as its territory. Five EU nations do not recognize Kosovo independence.