Kosovan President Fatmir Sejdiu said last Friday that the Albanian-dominated province was close to declaring independence from Serbia, and its government was closely cooperating with international organizations to alleviate any problems that may arise.
Top European Union diplomats have said they expect Kosovo's independence to be declared on February 17.
"We are speaking here about the subversion of all the foundations of international law, about the subversion of those principles which, at huge effort, and at the cost of Europe's pain, sacrifice and bloodletting have been earned and laid down as a basis of its existence, we are speaking about a subversion of those principles on which the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe rests, those [principles] laid down in the fundamental documents of the UN," the Russian diplomat said.
"I sincerely fail to comprehend the principles guiding our American colleagues, and those European [countries] who have taken up this position," he added.
Of the 27 EU states, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania have joined Serbia and Russia in opposing independence for Kosovo, saying the move could set a dangerous precedent for other breakaway territories.
Lavrov also accused those insisting on the uniqueness of the Kosovo problem of applying double standards.
"They are saying that Kosovo is unique, and it turns out that international law can be defied there with the approval of others. This will not happen," he said.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov announced on Sunday that his country had no plans to recognize the sovereignty of separatist South Ossetia and Abkhazia if Kosovo is declared independent. South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following bloody conflicts in the wake of the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse.
According to Serbian media, among UN Security Council members, Russia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and South Africa oppose independence for Kosovo. The U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Panama have been calling for the province's independence. Of the remaining Security Council members, Libya, Croatia, Costa Rica and Burkina Faso have not yet formulated their respective positions.
Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a conflict between Albanian and Serb forces in 1999.
