MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. A military scenario in the Kosovo crisis may have catastrophic reverberations, so Moscow backs Belgrade’s willingness to find a peaceful solution, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.
"We wholeheartedly support Belgrade’s commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the Kosovo problem, based on international law and Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council. We know from experience that a military conflict in the Balkans could lead to disastrous consequences, so we believe that the task of diplomacy is to provide effective assistance in finding a mutually acceptable solution," she said.
The diplomat added that the West, which is responsible for the crisis, was not taking action to resolve the conflict.
"The West, which is directly responsible for the current situation, has done nothing so far to ensure progress in resolving the Kosovo [crisis]. A Kosovo settlement should develop in the form of a dialogue, but it is not happening, as the Kosovars are actually encouraged to carry out more brutal actions," she said.
According to Zakharova, Serbia has recently been forced to keep the armed forces on hair-trigger alert following the Kosovo authorities’ actions.
"Recently, due to the provocative behavior of the so-called Kosovo authorities, Belgrade has been forced to keep the national armed forces on high alert in the areas neighboring the administrative line with the southern Serbian province," Zakharova concluded.