MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia supports Serbia's efforts to solve the Kosovo problem, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday while opening talks with his Serb counterpart Vuk Jeremic.
"We support the Serb government's efforts in resolving all the tasks facing them, we are also united on the Kosovo issue," Sergei Lavrov said.
The Russian minister called the current talks timely, as Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica during the 11th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"Today we will be able to resume the intensive dialogue started during my visit to Belgrade in April," Lavrov said.
He reiterated that Moscow would not back a unilateral solution on Kosovo. "We will not be able to agree to any unilateral solution that will be imposed on Serbia," Lavrov said.
Jeremic, on his first visit outside of the Balkans following the formation of a new Cabinet in Belgrade May 15, said the meeting reflects the effectiveness of bilateral relations, which, he said, are currently at a productive stage, but stressed that his main task as foreign minister is "to take these relations to a higher level."
The Serb minister said Serbia's prime minister was "looking forward to the St. Petersburg meeting."
The United States and the European Union have been pressing to grant sovereignty to the region, a proposal that has met with strong opposition from Serbia and Russia.
While the Albanians have since demanded full independence, the sizeable Orthodox Serb minority has complained that their lives and religious sites would be at risk under the proposed setup.
Russia's position is that the solution should be based on a compromise between Kosovo and Belgrade and compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Adopted in 1999, Resolution 1244 determined to resolve the grave humanitarian situation in Kosovo and to provide for the safe and free return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes, a requirement still far from being fulfilled.
Kosovo, which has a population of two million, has been a UN protectorate since NATO's 78-day bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia ended a war between Serb forces and Muslim Albanian separatists in 1999.
