Russian MFA Commentary in Connection with “Kosovo Constitution”

The so called Constitution of Kosovo "took effect" on June 15 by decisions of the Pristina authorities. This act is a sequel to the chain of actions undertaken in the arbitrary legalization of sovereignty for the province and to a line on violating the norms of international law, which only aggravates the tense situation in Kosovo and the isolation of the Serbian population not recognizing Kosovo's unilaterally proclaimed independence.

Unacceptable are the statements of Pristina, which are being made in the context of the "constitution," that the Kosovo Albanian leadership intends to wind down cooperation with the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). By the same token one of the parties is in gross breach of UNSCR 1244, which assigns a central role to the UN in Kosovo settlement. Any change of the mandate, reformatting of the international presences and the deployment of an EU mission in the province, of which there has been much talk in the last few days, should be carried out with the consent of the parties involved and subject to the approval of the UN Security Council. We call for restoring legality in Kosovo affairs since a different path is fraught with adverse consequences for regional security and international stability.

June 16, 2008