Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC briefing on the situation in Kosovo
Mr.President,
We congratulate SRSG Caroline Ziadeh on delivering her first briefing on the situation in the province of Kosovo and sharing her insights.
We welcome Foreign Minister of Serbia Nikola Selaković to this meeting. We also listened to the remarks by Ms. Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz.
At the outset, let me stress that Russia’s position on Kosovo remains unchanged. UNSC resolution 1244 provides the international legal basis for resolving this issue. We believe that Belgrade and Pristina should elaborate a viable and mutually acceptable solution on the basis of this SC document, that should meet the norms of international law and receive UNSC approval.
Before we turn to assessments of the present-day situation in Kosovo, we would like to remind our colleagues that this past March marked the 23rd anniversary of the bombings of Belgrade by the NATO coalition. This operation that went on for 78 days, killed thousands of civilians, devastated more than 1,500 human settlements, 60 bridges, 30 % of all schools, hospitals, approximately 100 monuments. The coalition air-dropped tens of thousands bombs and cruise missiles, many of which laden with depleted uranium. The total of 15 tons of this radioactive material was used, which contaminated vast areas. Dire consequences of this crime for people’s health and environment can be seen even today.
NATO’s choice of ally on the ground is also rather noteworthy. It was the Kosovo Liberation Army, whose numerous crimes still remain unpunished. On 7 January 2011, PACE issued a report on crimes of Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998-2000, including crimes against humanity, war crimes, systematic abductions and killings, as well as large-scale trafficking in body organs. It is year 2022 now, and we still keep track of the work of the Specialist Chambers, and look forward to having objective proceedings and just verdicts. So far without any result. We believe that Pristina’s attempts to challenge the legitimacy of legal proceedings and convince the international community of KLA’s inherent impeccability are unacceptable.
Let me also remind that on 24 March 1999, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Sergey Lavrov warned about long-term detrimental effects of NATO’s action not only for future Kosovo settlement and security in the Balkans, but also for the entire modern-day system of international relations. Quite apparently, it was at that point that the West assumed the role of a global policeman and thus opened a Pandora’s box.
Mr.President,
Adoption of UNSC resolution 1244 was meant to be a landmark step towards ending the bloodshed and reconciling Belgrade and Pristina. Nonetheless, Western UNSC members were the first to forget this resolution. In 2008, they hastened to recognize Kosovo’s unilaterally proclaimed independence in the absence of any referendum or relevant decisions of the Security Council or the General Assembly. As a result, the quasistate of Kosovo was created, which was a totally West-backed project.
Two more years passed. Negotiations process moved over to Brussels. However the 2013 Brussels agreements never had any tangible political implications. On various pretexts, Kosovo Albanians have been sabotaging the establishment of a community of Serb municipalities for nine years by now. In doing so, they undermine the process of inter-ethnical reconciliation in the province, because such a community should provide basic guarantees for survival of Kosovo Serbs – in judicial and police areas, security, socio-economic and cultural affairs. We regret that neither the UNSG report nor statements of most our colleagues pay any considerable attention to this issue.
In the absence of the community of municipalities, Kosovo Serbs remain in a very disadvantaged position. Here is a vivid example – attacks on Kosovo Serbs and their property doubled in 2021 as compared to 2020. The trend continued this year as well – there were 35 incidents in the period from January to March. I remind that after 1999, there have remained almost no Serbs in Kosovo’s southern regions. Nevertheless, steady efforts aimed at forcing them out of Kosovo continue. Apparently, there is a goal to destroy their cultural and religious identity completely. Orthodox churches and monasteries, i.a. those included on UNESCO’s world heritage list, are under a constant threat. One of them is the Visoki Dečani Monastery. Ever since 2016, it has been trying to retrieve adjacent land plots, but unsuccessfully. Even an affirmative decision of the so-called constitutional court of Kosovo could not help that.
Apart from Serbs, other non-Albanians also suffer discrimination. In fact, we see attempts to oust all national minorities from the province. The share of non-Albanians returning to Kosovo is negligibly small. I ask my colleagues in the Council to think carefully if they want to partake in creating an ethnically cleansed Kosovo that would be “for Albanians only”. Russia strongly rejects such prospects.
The way Kosovo “government” treated electoral rights of Kosovo Serbs is absolutely unacceptable. Contrary to the prior practice, first they were barred from voting in the Serbian referendum on 16 January, and then – from presidential and parliamentary elections of 3 April. Basically, it excluded tens of thousands people from the democratic process. We strongly condemn attempts to blur the long-term negative effect of such action. We demand that in future such sort of rights violence be addressed – in deeds rather than in words – by international presences, first of all UN and OSCE missions, in accordance with their respective broad authorities.
The list of other dangerous unilateral actions of Kosovars include steps towards destabilizing the situation in Serb-populated north. In September and October 2021 the situation nearly spiraled out of control. It happened when Pristina's special ops captured a checkpoint at the administrative line and a number of facilities. We remind that Kosovo police used firearms. Dozens of civilians suffered in the incident. This irresponsible behavior continues, i.a. in the isolated (and therefore more vulnerable) Serb enclaves in the south. Formal causes for that are astonishingly absurd. They vary from fruitless search for smuggled items to attempts to forfeit COVID-19 vaccines.
Pristina’s stance towards the UN Mission in Kosovo is just as unacceptable. Kosovo Albanians who were responsible for beating and detention of UNMIK officer M.Krasnoshchekov on 28 May 2019 have not been held to account. Then, on 31 December 2021, Kosovo authorities declared another Mission official, A.Antonov, persona non grata, which was a gross violation of established international legal norms. Clearly, the UN must do more to protect the immunity of its representatives in Kosovo. The engagement of UNMIK remains highly demanded. It must implement its mandate to its full extent and be in possession of all resources needed.
Mr.President,
Insistent attempts by A.Kurti and his satellites to shatter the situation in the region that have continued since February this year cause our growing concern. They seek to strengthen anti-Serb narrative and call on the West to “take Kosovo under its protection” in the face of alleged looming threats. Pristina now demands expedited integration with NATO and other Western alliances, encourages deployment of another NATO permanent military base in Kosovo. All this, as well as the intention to create a full-fledged “army” in Kosovo fundamentally contradicts UNSC resolution 1244 and creates risks of further escalation. We have heard reports about the British side supplying Pristina with anti-tank missile systems and guided missiles, as well as dispatching instructors to train Kosovo “security force”. As for Kosovars themselves, we believe they should reconsider their priorities and focus on improving the complex socio-economic situation, rather than buy armaments, i.a. through special “defense” fund.
This is the reality of the so-called Kosovar state. Despite the methods the US and some EU states used to create it back in 1999 that I mentioned earlier in my statement, today neither Brussels nor even Washington have any substantial influence on Pristina. Recently, Western states have enhanced their criticism of Kosovo authorities for failure to observe basic democratic and human rights standards, but this yields no result. Such reprimands are not enough, because they are not backed by real steps. This brings dialogue to a deadlock and leads Brussels down the path of discrediting mediator efforts. As Kosovo’s permanent crisis steadily exacerbates, this entity clearly produces threats for entire European space – economic, migration, and even terrorist threats. You have to realize that this approach is irresponsible.
Thank you.
Right of reply:
Mr.President,
I took the floor again to react to the statement of my American colleague. When commenting on my remarks, he drew some parallels to the situation in Ukraine. I suggest that he should take the trouble and refresh memories about the US statement made during the Security Council meeting on Kosovo on 24 March 1999. Once done, your double standards will become evident to you. You bombed Belgrade for 78 days, you killed almost a million Iraqis, you turned Libya into what? Those countries lie thousands of kilometers away from your borders. They posed no threat to you whatsoever. You however came up with various theories – of limited sovereignty, humanitarian intervention, and what not. You said I cannot teach you anything in this situation. But were you good teachers to the people of Belgrade, Baghdad, Basra, Raqqa, Mosul, Baghouz, Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Nangarhar, and other parts of Afghanistan? Not all of your strikes were precise, to say the least. But of course, this is different. This is collateral damage, as Madeleine Albright put it. Apparently, you believe that those losses were justified.
Truth is, all your policies and all your steps always proceed from the single assumption – the West is always right, the international law can be bent at any angle should this meet the interests of Washington and your war industry. Human rights violations are only condemned when beneficial to you. International legal mechanisms are applied only to those whom you already proclaimed criminals. You did not wait for the terrible tragedy in Bucha to be investigated. Did you determine the guilty even before the provocation took place?
But make no mistake. These double standards are obvious not only to us, but to many other peoples, including Serbs. There is only one goal behind your acts – the desire of NATO to impose, i.a. by force, its will on other members of the global community.
Thank you.
