Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Thursday that Russia had raised questions at Wednesday night's consultations at the UN Security Council about who ordered the use of fire-arms against civilians during a recent conflict in the north of Kosovo between local Serbs and the NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers.
Jeremic told the Serbian national broadcaster RTS that Serbia, through the influence of Russia, had demanded answers from the UN Security Council to the question about who ordered that fire be opened against civilians in northern Kosovo.
The minister said that Serbia would continue closely cooperating with all international organisations in order to shed light on what "is going on on Serbia's territory, in the heart of Europe".
He said that Serbia's position was presented by Russia in close agreement with Belgrade at the UN Security Council's consultations.
The consultations were held behind closed doors at the request of Russia, according to a statement from Belgrade, and Russia protested against operations of KFOR and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in the northern Kosovo.
Yesterday KFOR representative Kai Gudenoge said Serbs hurled stones at KFOR's German troops and that after one of them was hit, the soldiers fired rubber bullets in self-defence. Citing Gudenoge, Pristina's Albanian-language media said four KFOR troops were injured, including one seriously. The incidents resulted in injuries on both sides, according to local media.
The United States and France condemned Tuesday's attack by Kosovo Serb demonstrators on NATO peacekeeping troops, when several peacekeepers were injured, urging all parties in Kosovo to maintain calm and refrain from provocation.
"The United States condemns the violent attack by a Serb mob against the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) on September 27th. KFOR was dismantling a Serb roadblock and establishing a vehicle checkpoint on an unauthorized border crossing when it came under attack. We regret that nine KFOR members sustained injuries during the incident, which occurred while KFOR was carrying out its responsibilities under UN Security Council Resolution 1244," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement that France deplored the violence in northern Kosovo and called on the local population to cooperate.
The ministry's spokesman, Bernard Valero, was quoted as saying that Serb protesters demonstrated strong violence against NATO peacekeepers.
