Russia President: Serbia Must Decide on Kosovo Independence

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has stated that "without Serbia's last word, no one can state that the Kosovo issue has been resolved". Photo by BGNES

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has stated that no one is entitled to settle the issue of Kosovo's independence without Serbia having its say.

Medvedev, speaking before his Tuesday visit to the Serbian capital Belgrade, said that "Despite attempts by Kosovo independence defenders to present it as an irreversible process, [they] will not be able to close the issue. We believe it is necessary to prove, step by step, that there still is an alternative to legal arbitrariness," Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti reported. "And without Serbia's last word, no one can state that the Kosovo issue has been resolved," he added.

Serbian President Boris Tadic was quoted by national media on Saturday as saying Medvedev's visit to Belgrade will help deepen Russian-Serbian ties. Moscow supports Belgrade's view that Kosovo is an indivisible part of Serbia, RIA Novosti reported.

Medvedev's trip to Serbia, during which he will attend celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi forces, will be the first visit to the country by a Russian head of state since Vladimir Putin visited in 2001.

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