Russia: Eulex can get authority only with UNSC decision
Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin on Thursday criticised the activities of the UNMIK leadership focused on the transfer of authority to the Eulex mission, which is in Kosovo without the UN Security Council approval.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, June 06, 2008
"Any changes in the mandate and format of the present international civilian presence in Kosovo are possible only under the Security Council decision. Moves focused on the handover of authority or material resources of UNMIK to any other presence opposes the mandate of the Mission and Resolution 1244", Konuzin said after a meeting with UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker.
"As a whole, Ruecker's activities violate the practice created in the UN peacekeeping opeations. Measures focused on the change of format of the UN presence in Kosovo may be taken only under a Security Council decision and with the agreement of sides in the conflict, i.e. under the condition of the obligatory agreement of Belgrade for such a reconfiguration", the ambassador stressed.
Konuzin told this to Ruecker during their meeting and stressed that he had objected to how UNMIK cooperated with the European presence, which was consistently deployed in Kosovo, regardless of the absence of the appropriate legal basis.
Konuzin discussed the situation in Kosovo with KFOR Commander Xavier de Marnhac.
The Russian ambassador said he had received assurances that KFOR had sufficient resources to keep the developments under control.
