As spokesman for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yakovenko noted, the UN forces and the local authorities "must spare no effort to ensure holding of the election campaign in accordance with the democratic standards, and to prevent the extremists' violent actions directed against the non-Albanian population of the province."
"Every voter in Kosovo is free to make his choice regarding participation or non-participation in the upcoming poll," Mr. Yakovenko said in the interview with Serbian agency Tanjug.
"Regrettably, the current situation in the province is not comforting. There is no visible progress in ensuring security and the main rights and freedoms of the non-Albanian population, and the elimination of the adverse effects of the March wave of anti-Serbian violence is proceeding at an insufficient rate," the spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry noted.
According to Mr. Yakovenko, there is only one way to bring back the Serbs' trust in the provisional self-government institutes in Kosovo - by consistently translating into reality the concept of multiethnic society based on the plan for implementing the Kosovo standards and on the corresponding decisions of the UN Security Council.
"Continuation of the consultations on decentralisation in Kosovo with the participation of all the parties concerned, including Belgrade, could be the first step in this direction," Mr. Yakovenko believes.
Serbia's government earlier called on the Kosovo Serbs to boycott the elections, demanding ensurance of the Serbian population's security and Serbs' autonomy in the province.
At the same time, the Contact Group for Settlement in former Yugoslavia called upon the Serbs to participate in the forthcoming elections.
About 50,000-70,000 Serbs and around 2 million Albanians now live in Kosovo. The Albanians demand independence of the province and its withdrawal from Serbia.
