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Russia Brings South Ossetia to
UN, Calls EULEX in Kosovo "Deplorable," Serbs Aggrieved
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
July 8 -- While the other members
of the UN Security Council took positions on Zimbabwe, Russia spoke out
on two
controversies more important to it, in Georgia and Kosovo. After a
weekend of
explosions to Georgia's two breakaway republics, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia,
Russia on Tuesday introduced a draft resolution calling on Georgia to
commit to
the "non-use of violence."
The
draft "deplores the recent bombing
of the city of Tskhinvali" in South Ossetia. Inner City Press asked
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin if this resolution would make Council
"seized" of South Ossentia, as it is of Abkhazia. Churkin said there
is an "informal division of labor" under which the OSCE is
responsible for South Ossetia, but added, "you will understand there is
a
political interconnection" between shelling of South Ossentia and
Abkhazia, which says it too is the target of Georgian "terrorism."
Video
here,
from Minute 9:14.
While
UK Ambassador John Sawers minutes
later joked about an "informal division
of labor" between himself and South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo,
another Western diplomatic, decidedly not joking, posited that Russia
will try
to trade not vetoing the pending Zimbabwe sanctions for votes for its
Georgia
resolution. Amb. Churkin said there is no linkage. He also said that
"every military action causes a military response, that is what
military
people are about."
Scarcely mentioned was the UN's current experts
group in the region, led by Bertrand Ramcharan, who met with
Georgia's Ambassador to the UN Irakli Alasania. The group's initial
mandate has been outstripped by events. Given Ramcharan's recent musings
about preventive diplomacy, the group's report-back should be of
interest, if it is ever made public. Watch this space.
Amb. Churkin and his spokeswoman, report on
Mitrovica courthouse still not shown
Amb. Churkin returned to the stakeout
to denounce comments by EUFOR in Kosovo that it will report only to
Brussels.
Churkin called this illegal and deplorable. Inner City Press asked to
whom in
Russia's view EULEX should report. "EULEX will be supervised in
Brussels
as well," Churkin said, but it must "recognize the responsibility as
UNMIK," the UN Mission. Video here,
from Minute 5:20.
Inner
City Press asked if Russia thinks UNMIK should engage with the Kosovar
Serb
institutions emerging in the north part of Kosovo. "Absolutely,"
Churkin said, "the Serbs are the aggrieved party now, it is the
responsibility of UNMIK" to deal with them.
UNMIK's spokesman has been quoted
that
"We have not started cooperating with parallel structures and we do not
plan to cooperate." We'll see. There is also an open question of where
the
long-promised report on the retaking of the courthouse in North
Mitrovica is.
Churkin was asked if Russia's unhappiness about moves around Kosovo
might cost
Ban Ki-moon a second term as Secretary-General.
Churkin's answer included noting that "I haven't
been able to speak
with him." During Ban's extensive travels, most recently five days in
South Korea, that's been true on a number of issues, including UN
corruption
and reform, and some brewing Chad and Sudan issues. Watch this site.
And this --
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