Russia welcomes the integration of the Balkans into the European Union

Saturday, January 23, 2021

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Russia welcomes the integration of the Balkans into the European Union, although it opposes the creation of new dividing lines in the region, a senior official said Friday. Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's permanent representative to the EU, told a Russian daily, Vremya Novostei: "The role of the EU in the region will be constantly increasing until the issue of Balkans' integration in the European community is resolved. We welcome the EU integration; however, we would like to give free, friendly advice to our European colleagues - they should avoid creating new dividing lines in the Balkans, helping some countries and pushing others aside." "The Kosovo issue concerns not only relations between Russia and the EU but also the UN, NATO, and the Balkan Contact Group," Chizhov said. "It is first important to implement the standards there and then resolve the issue of the status [of that autonomous region in Serbia]." Chizhov said both Soren Jessen-Petersen, head of the UN mission in Kosovo, and UN Secretary-General special envoy Ambassador Kai Aide, who is responsible for assessing the Kosovo standards, recognized it would take a long time to implement these standards. "There are no strict deadlines either for Aide's work or any future talks on the status of Kosovo. Ambassador Aide will send his comprehensive assessment to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan," the diplomat said. "Based on the results of the report, the UN Security Council will have to decide whether or not to hold talks on the status of Kosovo."

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