BBC: Russia praised over Kosovo shootings
The punchline's wording makes me feel as if those three men had to die for the Russian - NATO relations. I didn't ask Javier Solana to protect my interest that way !
MNI.
full text:
news.bbc.co.uk
Russia praised over Kosovo shootings
The Russians were alerted by shots fired at the Albanians' car
The Nato Secretary-General, Javier Solana, has praised
the actions of Russian peacekeepers who shot dead
three Serbs while trying to stop them attacking
ethnic-Albanians in Kosovo.
The Russians shot back when fired
on by Serbs they caught beating two
wounded Albanians in the village of
Korminjane.
It was the most violent incident
involving peacekeeping troops since
they arrived in Kosovo three months ago.
A spokesman for the Nato-led force, K-For, said the
Russian soldiers went to the village of Korminjane after a
gun fight broke out between Serbs and Albanians.
The soldiers had found the
Serbs beating two Kosovo
Albanians who had been
wounded in the battle.
When the Russians ordered
the Serbs to stop, the Serbs
refused and began firing at
the soldiers. The soldiers
then fired back at the Serbs,
killing three people.
One Albanian also died
during the earlier gun battle
with Serbs.
Russians 'acted properly'
Nato Secretary-General Javier Solana told reporters in
Pristina that the incident, which happened early on
Monday in the American sector, proved that the Russian
troops behaved according to the obligations of all K-For
troops.
"Therefore they deserve the
same respect that K-For
troops from any other country
deserve. We have one K-For,
not two K-Fors. I think today
is the proof of that."
The incident was the latest in
what a K-For spokesman
described as a worrying
escalation of
ethnically-motivated violence.
Two Albanians died over the
weekend in separate attacks, and a Serb was killed by a
bomb at his home in Pristina.
But the BBC's correspondent in the region says the
shootings in Korminjane could serve to improve the
reputation of the Russians among ethnic Albanians.
Russians under suspicion
There has long been a suspicion that
the Russians would side with the
Serbs, and troops are still being
prevented from entering the town of
Orahovac.
But Russian Colonel Mihail Kovtunenko commented:
"This incident is a good example of how Russian
peacekeepers came to Kosovo with a peacekeeping
task in mind to normalise the situation in the region.
"We are fighting against criminals, no matter what
nationality, Serbs or Albanians." |
