Kosovo status requires consent of other party - Lavrov

ITAR-TASS (RUSSIAN FEDERATION), 21.09.2006, 00.28

UNITED NATIONS, September 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Kosovo should not be given any status without the consent of the other party, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a meeting with the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for Kosovo status talks, Martti Ahtisaari, at the UN headquarters in New York.

"If that happens after all, a precedent will be created," Lavrov said. "The contract group is working on recommendations for the parties concerned, and they will have the final say. When the parties have come to terms, the UN Security Council will be prepared to approve of the agreements. Dictating solutions to any party would be counter-productive, be it Kosovo, Abkhazia or South Ossetia."