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NATO
'There is No Military Solution to
The Kosovo Problem'
21 April 1999
Igor Ivanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Russian Federation
Reprinted from Russian Information Agency-Novosti
[RIA-Novosti]
April 24 marks exactly one month since the beginning
of the NATO military operation against sovereign Yugoslavia.
The same day, a jubilee celebration will be held in Washington
to mark NATO's 50th anniversary. Most likely this is a coincidence,
yet it is symbolic in a way. The tragic events of this month
have amply and convincingly confirmed the righteousness and
validity of the position taken by Russia. Our principled position
boils down just to one sentence, one simple and clear idea
- the Kosovo problem has no military solution, it can and
must only be political. No one dares to question this today.
If the NATO jubilee is viewed through the prism
of the events in Yugoslavia, one can say that the NATO member-states
have come to it with only one "achievement" - during one month
alone they have inflicted on the state, situated in the heart
of Europe, a damage which exceeds that it suffered during
the whole of World War Two.
Actually, NATO generals have nothing to write
home about because they have failed to achieve any objective
they had declared earlier. Militarily, the operation suffers
a complete fiasco. Anyone can get convinced of that simply
by comparing Yugoslavia's military potential with the combined
military might of the NATO countries.
The problem of refugees, which has resulted
from the air strikes, is growing over into a real humanitarian
catastrophe. There was no such a problem before March 24.
People in Macedonia, Albania and other adjacent countries
are well aware about this. The first NATO bombs compelled
refugees to flee from there. According to official statistics,
their total number exceeds 600,000 now. The critical situation
in the regions bordering on Yugoslavia is aggravating. We
warned NATO about such consequences. So, this is either just
one more miscalculation of the alliance or its deliberate
action.
Less than one month from now, the entire world
will mark yet another event - the 54th anniversary of the
end of World War Two. Is it not regrettable that the anti-Nazi
coalition used to include the same countries which are now
bombing in cold blood the territory of their ally in their
resolute struggle against Nazism?
It is becoming ever more evident that the NATO
forces are waging a real war on the Balkans and that the war
there is being waged against the whole of the Yugoslav people.
Objective analysts in NATO countries acknowledge openly already
that the NATO military action is not directed at ensuring
the Kosovo Albanians' right to self-governance - it is actually
directed at destroying the sovereignty of multinational Yugoslavia.
We are told that this is being done in the name
of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe. But is it possible
to kill people and destroy their homes, guided by any humanitarian
considerations? And, generally, is there anything common between
humanism and barbarian bombing? But some people in Brussels
believe this is little. In the teeth of the mounting resistance
to the expansion of the aggression, these people overwhelmed
by military passions are planning already a land invasion
into the territory of Yugoslavia, which is to follow the air
strikes.
There are several variants of the so-called
land operation, ranging from the seizure of part of Kosovo
and the establishment of a military protectorate there to
the occupation of the whole of Yugoslavia with a subsequent
division of it into several small state entities. Moreover,
if the latter variant is opted, NATO troops are supposed to
resort to the "scorched earth" tactics, i.e. killing and destroying
everybody and everything and then marching through as if in
the desert. And this total destruction of the country is actually
being started today.
The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army is given
a special role in the invasion plans. That army is being hastily
formed in some neighborcountries. Money, including that from
NATO countries, is increasingly used to recruit new soldiers
- from amongst refugees in refugee camps and from amongst
the diaspora. To this end, additional appropriations are requested
from parliaments - of course, under the guise of aid to refugees.
Instructors and mercenaries from some Near and Middle East
countries are also invited. Rearmed and retrained Albanian
gunmen are planned to be used as a strike force to "mop up"
the positions currently occupied by the Yugoslav army.
What is the way out of this situation, critical
for all? The answer is clear - to bring the situation back
into the channel of peaceful settlement. I repeat: there is
no military solution to the Kosovo problem - there is only
a political one. Neither can be military the means for achieving
a settlement.
This is the core that stems from all the various
initiatives that have been tabled lately, initiatives that
are quite well known. In one form or another, we can visualize
the formation of a set of principles, the fulfilment of which
would make it possible to substantially advance towards a
peaceful settlement, and put an end to the air strikes. These
principles are the following:
an immediate termination of all armed action,
as well as violence and reprisals;
a withdrawal from Kosovo of all excessive
military and police forces must be accompanied by a pullback
of the NATO assault military units and armaments that have
been deployed in Macedonia and Albania neighboring on Yugoslavia;
a safe return of all refugees and displaced
persons irrespective of their national affiliation and religion;
granting to international humanitarian organizations
unobstructed access for the fulfilment of their functions;
a resumption of negotiations between Belgrade
and the leaders of the Kosovar Albanians to work out a political
agreement that would grant Kosovo a status of broad autonomy,
along with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Yugoslavia;
international assistance to the restoration
of the economy of Yugoslavia.
The implementation of these principles requires
international presence, the format and tasks of which will
have to be coordinated. It is precisely this problem, as you
know, that remains one of the most complicated questions.
At the present stage, a most important role
in achieving a settlement can and must be played by the United
Nations that possesses a wide range of peacemaking mechanisms,
and which has accumulated considerable experience in this
area. A constructive stand by Belgrade, doubtless, will promote
the task of finding such a solution within the framework of
the United Nations, that would ensure the preservation of
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Union Republic
of Yugoslavia, along with the sweeping solution of the problems
of Kosovo, and first of a the return of all the refugees and
displaced persons. Russia remains open to any ideas and initiatives
that are directed towards a speedy termination of the NATO
military operation, and a resumption of the political negotiation
process concerning Kosovo. At the same time, we intend to
continue playing an active role, both as a generator of ideas
and as a possible mediator, in the matter of achieving a settlement.
It is precisely such an order, such instructions
that have been given by the President of the Russian Federation,
Boris Yeltsin, to the Russian Government. It is precisely
in this manner that all of Russia's representatives intend
to act.
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