About 20,000 Kosovo Serbs want to get Russia's citizenship, the Belgrade-based Danas daily reported on Monday, explaining that the number was estimated on the basis of a letter sent by several Kosovo Serb associations to the Russian parliament's lower house, the Duma.
An official at the Russian Embassy in Serbia, Oleg Buldakov, was quoted by Danas as saying that "a written request for Russian citizenship by several thousand Serbs from Kosovo" had been sent to Moscow with the help of the embassy in Belgrade. He said the reason for their request was their wish to have guarantees for their survival and security,
"The associations estimate in the letter that some 20,000 Kosovo Serbs want Russian citizenship," Buldakov said,
The leader of a newly-established Kosovo Serb association, Ljubisa Vucic, said he had not heard of that letter. He said he had understanding for such requests, adding that they were the consequence of the despair and revolt of Kosovo Serbs due to Serbia's policy towards Kosovo.
Vucic was quoted as saying that applying for Russian citizenship, however, was not a way to solve huge problems of Kosovo Serbs and that Kosovo Serbs should address their problems only to the Serbian government.
