EU shows its inability to serve as guarantor of conflict settlement — Lavrov

Russia’s top diplomat recalled the situation in Kosovo and the EU guarantees of settlement in Ukraine between the former president, Viktor Yanukovich, and the opposition in February 2014

The European Union has demonstrated its utter inability to serve as a guarantor of conflict settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Serbia’s mass media in an interview.

“I believe that the European Union has demonstrated its utter inability to serve as a guarantor of conflict settlement, just as it was the case in February 2014, when the EU guaranteed a settlement in Ukraine between the [former] president, [Viktor] Yanukovich, and the opposition. The next morning, when the opposition severed that agreement, the EU preferred to keep quiet and then started referring to some democratic processes,” he said.

Also, Lavrov recalled the situation in Kosovo.

“We have always been in favor of resolving the Kosovo problem in strict compliance with the UN Security Council’s resolution 1244. When the UN General Assembly issued to the EU the mandate of a mediator between Pristina and Belgrade, we began to feel some hope. In 2013, the EU managed to persuade Pristina and Belgrade sign an agreement on creating an association of Serb municipalities in Kosovo,” he recalled.

However, Lavrov stressed, no such community has been established to this day.

“When we address our Western counterparts with a reminder, they shyly keep quiet or say that everything is on the table, but the implementation of this decision is still to be enforced patiently,” Lavrov said.

TASS