Russia opposes U.S. weapons supply to Kosovo
www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-29 08:06:36
BRUSSELS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Russia is against the U.S. decision to supply weapons to Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia last month, said Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin on Friday.
"There is a huge amount of weapons in Kosovo already, and it is an issue how to disarm this region," Rogozin told reporters.
The Russian side requested a meeting with ambassadors of NATO allies after U.S. President George W. Bush announced on March 19 that his country will provide weapons to Kosovo.
Russia has refused to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
Rogozin said the U.S. decision is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which put Kosovo under UN administration in 1999.
Instead of providing weapons to Kosovo, commanders of NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo ought to restrict the flow of arms in the region, said Rogozin.
He said more weapons for Kosovo means Serbs will be forced to live in an independent Kosovo, which Rogozin said is an "illegal status."
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities' independence declaration was firmly opposed by Serbia and the Serb minority living in Kosovo.
Latest violence in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo led to the death of one UN police officer and the injury of scores of people.
