Russia, India, China to discuss Kosovo problem in Yekaterinburg
The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China met in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on Thursday for discussions on Kosovo and the drug problem in Afghanistan.
None of the three countries have recognized Kosovo as a nation state since the province`s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February.
"Russia, India and China favor the resumption of talks between Belgrade and Pristina to reach a consensus between them on all problems relating to this Serb territory. We believe the Kosovo problem should be resolved exclusively on the basis of international law," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting.
Kosovo, with a 90% ethnic-Albanian majority, has been formally recognized as a sovereign state by 40 countries including the U.S. and most EU members.
Lavrov reiterated Russia`s position that that Kosovo`s unilateral declaration of independence ran against UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
On the situation in Afghanistan, Lavrov said India, Russia and China propose that additional drug security belts be set up around the country.
"During today`s meeting we confirmed the need to fight terrorism and the drug threat... We support the international community`s efforts to improve the situation around Afghanistan and believe that in addition to these efforts, the establishment of drug security belts around the country would be useful," he told reporters.
Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the next meeting of the three foreign ministers would be held in 2009 in India. The date and venue will be decided at a later date.
Russian News
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