RUSSIA'S CONCERNS OVER KOSOVO
Macedonian Press Agency (Greece) - May 24, 2004

Russian ambassador to Athens Andrei Vdovin expressed Moscow's concerns over the developments in Kosovo after the incidents targeting the Serbs last March.

Addressing the 10th Thessaloniki Forum, he said that Kosovo is the most persuasive example of the activity of destabilizing factors in the Balkans. Russia had predicted this development and unfortunately it became true, he said. He stated that the only legal framework for the settlement of the Kosovo case is the implementation of UN resolution 1244, adding that those responsible for the extermination of the Serbs should be punished and the destroyed churches and monasteries must be rebuilt. People should be allowed to return to their homes, the paramilitary groups must be dissolved and their guns must be confiscated, while the participation of the Serbs within this solution framework must be seriously discussed, he stressed.

The Russian ambassador said that if the situation in Kosovo is not faced, there is a risk for a Domino Effect in other Balkan regions as well. He said that the Russian President has suggested that an international conference should be held in which it will be confirmed that borders cannot be violated. He pointed out that Russia, the United States and the UN can cooperate to secure a better future for the Balkan region.

Mr. Vdovin stated that Russia is interested in the Balkans and mentioned characteristically President Putin's visit to Athens in 2001 and in Bulgaria last year. Russia is in a political dialogue with Albania and a friendship and cooperation agreement is going to be signed soon. Russia supplies many Balkan countries with natural gas, Russian companies expand their activities in the Balkans and Russian tourists visit Greece and Serbia-Montenegro, said the Russian ambassador.

He said that Russia sees the EU enlargement positively and hopes that the Russian interests in the region will not be put at risk, while on NATO's enlargement to include eastern European countries, he pointed out that Russia does not dramatize the whole situation.

Thessaloniki, 24 May 2004 (16:28 UTC+2)

Copyright 2004 Macedonian Press Agency
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