The plan proposed by Martti Ahtisaari recommends internationally supervised sovereignty for Kosovo. As a veto-wielding UN Security Council member and long-time Serb ally, Russia is opposed to the proposal.
"When they say the plan, which has been denied by one of the sides, is the only option, it is an imposed resolution," Sergei Lavrov said following talks with Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen.
Some Western countries have said violence would be inevitable if Kosovo fails to secure independence. But Lavrov said it was nothing but "blackmail." "An opinion that division of a sovereign state can bring stability to the region is totally illogical," he said, adding that international peacekeeping forces had been deployed in the region to prevent any violence.
Lavrov reiterated his appeal for direct negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, and for a solution that would satisfy both Kosovar and Serbian authorities. "Negotiations on the status [of Kosovo] should be direct and supported by international organizations rather than based on some recipe that has demonstrated its inconsistency," the Russian minister said in a reference to the Ahtisaari plan.
During the first round of UN consultations on the Ahtisaari plan April 3, only four out of 15 permanent member-states at the UN Security Council voted for Kosovo's sovereignty.
As an alternative to the Ahtisaari plan, Moscow has proposed sending a UN mission to Kosovo and Belgrade before continuing talks on Kosovo's status. The UN Security Council backed Russia's initiative April 13, and the UN mission is expected to visit Belgrade April 25-26 and Pristina April 27-28, the Serbian Tanjug news agency has said, citing UN diplomatic sources.
