Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia
would not support any international solution to resolve Kosovo's
status that was unacceptable to either Serbia or the province's
ethnic Albanian majority.
"If we see that either of the sides is clearly unsatisfied with
the proposed ways to solve the situation, we will not support the
decision," said Putin at a high-profile security conference held in
the southern German city of Munich.
The international community was not in the right position to
solve the problem with any disputable issues left between the two
sides, he said.
"Only the Kosovars and Serbs can resolve this," he added.
Earlier in a speech at the same meeting, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency,
called the international community, and possibly NATO to intervene
to solve the crisis in Kosovo.
Some 250 top officials from over 40 countries, including US
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, and EU chief diplomat Javier Solana, participated in the
43th Munich security conference that will be held from late Friday
until Sunday.
The Munich security conference, entitled "global crisis, global
responsibilities", will also highlight Iran's nuclear crisis, NATO'
s role, the Middle East peace process, transatlantic relations, the
West's relations with Russia and the fight against international
terrorism, according to the organizers.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2007)
