Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on the Situation in Kosovo
Mr. President,
We are grateful to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Ms. Caroline Ziadeh for her briefing on the situation in the province and the assessments she shared.
We welcome the participation of Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Marko Djuric, in this meeting. We have listened to Ms. Donnika Gervalla-Schwarz, who yet again exercised in spreading lies, unacceptable language and inaccurate assessments, while pretending to draw some geopolitical conclusions. Next time, Mr. President, we are going to challenge the participation of this “dame” in meetings on resolution 1244. Someone should still brief those invited to the Council not only on the rules of participation in meetings but also on rules of conduct and decency. In all other respects, as usual, Ms. Gervalla-Schwarz painted us a rosy picture of what is happening in the province – in this young, so-called “democracy”. Let's see if it is the case or not.
In general, The Secretary-General's report reflects a trend towards a significant escalation of the crisis in Kosovo. The main reasons have remained unchanged. These are Pristina's chauvinistic policy vis-a-vis the Serbian community, as well as the policy of a number of Western countries towards disrupting the international legal basis for a settlement.
The resolution notes the massive liquidation of Serbian institutions in the province, incidents of desecration of Christian shrines and expropriation of land, as well cases of illegal detention and extrajudicial prosecution of non-Albanian citizens.
We would like to note that the rampant lawlessness on the part of the Pristina leadership is a continuation of its policy towards the expulsion of Serb residents. There are other artificial problems unresolved: a ban on the circulation of the Serbian dinar, obstacles to delivery of goods from central Serbia, growing crime against Serbs and their property, destructive activities of the so-called “mayors” of the four northern municipalities, obstruction of travel to the region for representatives of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church, and attempts to resume vehicular traffic along the bridge over the Ibar River in Kosovska Mitrovica.
Under such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that the pace of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to the province remains extremely low. In six months, only 55 people have returned, 29 of them are Serbs. And yet, there is an ongoing exodus of the Serbian population – over the past year and a half, about 20 per cent of the Serbs residing there have left Kosovo. In order to reverse this negative trend, Belgrade has initiated the adoption of measures to support the most disadvantaged non-Albanian residents of the province. We are convinced that this is a responsible approach which deserves our full-fledged support.
Still, we’ve seen no investigation into the water canal attack of November 2024 in Zubin Potok. The Pristina leadership, having no evidence in hand, as is their custom, has ostentatiously pinned blame on the Serbs, using the incident as a pretext to step up repression and carry out brutal detentions.
We have noted the positive assessment in the report regarding the conduct of the 9 February election to the so-called parliament of the province. And at the same time, what has been disregarded in the report is the exclusion of the largest party of Kosovo Serbs – the Serb List – from the certification mechanisms, as well as the fraud during the voting process that brought a figure form the local Serb community controlled by Kosovo Albanians into the so-called “assembly.”
In addition, the report lacks any information about Pristina's sabotage of the Brussels Agreements of 2013-2015 with Belgrade on the establishment of the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities of Kosovo (CSMK). Such actions by the Kosovo Albanians run counter to what was agreed upon in the EU-led dialogue and render the negotiation process meaningless. The mediators themselves are not helping either. Each unilateral step undertaken by Pristina is met with purely formalistic condemnation, and calls to exercise restraint addressed to both sides. Essentially, what they propose to Belgrade is to accept the “fait accompli”. At the same time, we are shocked by the obstinacy with which EU representatives are advancing the Brussels-Ohrid understandings dated February-March 2023, which do not even exist on paper. We would like to recall that the purpose of those verbal understandings is to prompt Belgrade to de facto recognize Kosovo's pseudo-independence. This once again demonstrates Brussels' inability to act as an “honest broker”.
Let us recall that in 2008, the Security Council supported the UN Secretary General's proposal for the EU to play a greater role in the Kosovo settlement as per UNSC resolution 1244. Seventeen years have elapsed. subsequently in 2010, the UN General Assembly welcomed Brussels' willingness to facilitate dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Fifteen years have elapsed. An analysis of the current situation clearly shows that the EU is not in the position to exert any influence on Pristina. Albin Kurti openly said during the election campaign that he has no intention whatsoever to establish the CSMK. As regards Brussels, it has stubbornly turned a blind eye to the tragedy of anti-Serb ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and tends to instigate the provisional self-governing bodies in Pristina to continue oppressing the Serb population. The European mediation has proved to be a complete failure. We do not understand why the EU delegation has requested to participate in today’s UNSC meeting in such circumstances – apparently, they want to remind us of their very existence, and, making use of the Council's authority, to improve their completely tarnished reputation when it comes to the settlement.
It may seem paradoxical, but the efforts of the Pristina regime and its NATO patrons are geared towards exacerbating the main problems of the province rather than solving them. It has been announced recently that the establishment of the so-called Kosovo “army” is entering its final phase. There are ongoing deliveries of military products from NATO countries. We are talking here about drones, armored vehicles, anti-tank vehicles, artillery pieces and other weaponry. There are plans to procure air defense systems and helicopter gunships. Thus, the foundations are being laid for the establishment of local defense industry. All this is an egregious breach of resolution 1244.
We are particularly concerned by the signing on March 18 by Zagreb, Tirana and Pristina of a joint declaration on some kind of “defense cooperation”. Moreover, the so-called “prime minister” Albin Kurti is openly talking about the anti-Serb focus of this alliance and advancing the dangerous narrative of “Greater Albania.” In addition, he is announcing a sharp increase in the “military budget,” cynically emphasizing the succession between the so-called “Kosovo security forces” and the former terrorist “Kosovo Liberation Army”, whose leaders are presently on trial at The Hague. We trust that the special court established there will carry out its tasks so that all perpetrators of the crimes are duly punished.
Mr. President,
We are convinced that, in order to stabilize the situation in the province, it is necessary for Pristina to repeal its discriminatory decisions against the Serb population as soon as possible, and for its Western patrons to revisit their approaches towards the militarization of the province and the Kosovo settlement as a whole. Specifically, it is high time to propel the wayward regime to establish the CSMK as was stipulated in the Brussels agreements more than a decade ago. I wonder whether we will hear today from the EU representative what real steps they intend to undertake to break this deadlock.
The facts we have voiced today once again reaffirm the need to keep the situation in Kosovo on the agenda of the UNSC, no matter how much the representatives of the Pristina regime are trying to convince us otherwise. Especially given that this situation is particularly at odds with that rosy picture that the representatives of Pristina are once painting for us.
Instead, I would like to hear from Ms. Gervalla-Schwarz what steps have been undertaken to bring to justice the Kosovo Albanians responsible for the assault on UNMIK staff member Mikhail Krasnoshchekov on 28 May 2019. What we also want is a clarification regarding the illegitimate designation in 2021 as a “persona non grata” of another UNMIK staff member Andrey Antonov. As we know, Pristina has no authority to expel UNMIK staff.
Mr. President,
Given the lack of progress in the settlement, the attention of the international community to Kosovo should not wane. We categorically object to reducing the frequency and changing the format of UN Security Council meetings on the Kosovo issue, and we object to limiting the funding and staffing for UNMIK.
We support the swift achievement by Belgrade and Pristina of a lasting and mutually acceptable solution on the basis of UNSC resolution 1244. This is the only possible solution. And it must be endorsed by the Council.
I thank you.
