Lavrov: Russia to defend Serb rights everywhere

Source: Tanjug, ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW -- Russia's FM Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that he "understands perfectly the motives" of those Kosovo Serbs who applied for Russian citizenship.

Sergei Lavrov (Beta/AP, file)

He added that Russia will defend the rights of Serbs wherever they live, taking into account all options stemming from international and Russian law.

The Kosovo Serbs are forced to follow the dictate from Priština, Lavrov said.

"We are very familiar with their demands. We are obligated to act taking into account several factors. Russia has a citizenship law which regulates how people from other countries can acquire citizenship," Lavrov said, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

He pointed out official Moscow "understands perfectly the motives of Kosovo Serbs who are in a desperate situation in which, despite UN Security Council Resolution 1244, they are forced to follow the dictate of Priština, which wants to deprive them of the right to self-government, with the direct support of NATO and EULEX".

Lavrov said NATO and EULEX are violating the UN mandate which obligates them to neutrality regarding Kosovo's status, adding Russia is strongly opposed to this.

"We intend to defend the rights of Serbs wherever they live, taking into account all options stemming from international and Russian law," Lavrov pointed out.

The minister said this was the response to a collective request of around 20,000 Serbs, mostly internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo who applied for Russian citizenship at the country's embassy in Belgrade.