Russian diplomacy characterizes the developments in Kosovo as proof of the failure of the EU's mediation initiative and calls on Pristina, the US and the EU "to stop provocations and respect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo".
A comment by the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, which was distributed to the Russian media last Sunday night, states:
"The decision of the 'authorities' in Pristina to start from August 1 the implementation of baseless, discriminatory 'rules' regarding the forced replacement of personal documents and number plates (of cars) of Serbs in the region is yet another step towards the expulsion of the Serbian population from Kosovo, the displacement of the Kosovo Serb institutions which ensure the protection of the rights of the Serbian population from the arbitrariness of the Pristina radicals led by the 'prime minister' Albin Kurti".
"The leaders of Kosovo know that the Serbs will not stand idly by when it comes to a direct attack on their freedoms, and they are deliberately escalating in order to set up a scenario of violence. It goes without saying that Belgrade is also on the razor's edge of the attack, which the West also wants to 'neutralize' with the hands of the Albanians of Kosovo", it is added.
The representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on "Pristina and the USA and the EU, which are behind it, to stop the provocations and to respect the rights of the Serbs in Kosovo."
"This development of events is another proof of the failure of the mediation mission of the European Union. It is also an example of what position they have prepared for Serbia in the European Union, suggesting that Belgrade de facto reconcile with the deprivation of the rights of its compatriots," he concludes.
Source: RES-EAP