Moscow blasts US for sending arms to “former terrorists”
Russia blasted the United States on Thursday, following President George W. Bush’s decision to authorize the arms supply to Kosovo security forces, blaming Washington for arming former terrorists and pouring the oil on the already fragile situation in the volatile province.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, March 21, 2008
"They say the weapons will help fight terrorism. At the same time, it is namely former terrorists who are in power in Kosovo right now. How can you fight terrorism, supplying weapons to former terrorists," Russian envoy to the NATO Dmitry Rogozin said.
Rogozin said that the Russia-NATO council would meet next week for extraordinary and informal meeting to discuss Washington's plans to supply weapons to Kosovo.
The United Nations Development Program, UNDP, estimates that between 330.000 and 460.000 small arms have been hidden in Kosovo since the end of 1998-99 conflict, with just as many stashed in neighboring Macedonia.
However, the White House said the move would "strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace."
US officials argue that the presidential decree opens the way for arming the planned 2,500-strong Kosovo security force, which will be trained and supervised by NATO in accordance with the status plan drafted by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari.
Serbia and Russia objected the move, saying that the creation of new security force in Kosovo contradicts the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which bans the creation of Kosovo army and forbids the export of weapons to the province.
"I would hate to think that these arms supplies aim to coerce Serbs and other ethnic minorities by force to stay within the borders of an illegally proclaimed state. I don't believe this will add stability to the Balkans -- probably, it will just the other way round," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
