MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Russia will not allow Kosovo to join the United Nations, so there is no chance that this goal comes to fruition, Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said on Tuesday.
"Naturally, Russia will not allow Kosovo’s admission to NATO, which, as a matter of fact, is the key goal for the West, Pristina, and its Western sponsors. Bearing in mind Russia’s position on the non-recognition of Kosovo, our commitment to United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 and our support for Belgrade, this goal is absolutely unattainable," he said at a meeting of the Valdai international discussion club.
He noted, however, that amid anti-Russian sanctions, the West has managed to promote "the procedure of admitting Kosovo to the Council of Europe." According to the Russian diplomat, this would have been impossible when Russia was a member of the organization. "Now, they have done it. The procedure is underway. In principle, it should be assumed that they will make Kosovo a European Council member and the West will consider this as a kind of breakthrough in the process of Kosovo’s international recognition or the formalization of this recognition and its subsequent admission to international organizations," he said.
Botsan-Kharchenko said earlier that the support from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for Kosovo’s membership application reveals the organization’s degradation and proves that it is totally controlled by Washington and Brussels.