By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 15 -- On Kosovo, the UN Security Council met past 8 pm on Thursday, ultimately not agreeing to a short statement proposed by Russia the brewing dispute about border posts should be resolved by dialogue.
Afterward as Kosovo Foreign Minister Hoxhaj was speaking to the Press at the Security Council stakeout, Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told him he should not be speaking there without being accompanied by someone from the UN Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK.
Hoxhaj remained at the microphone. Inner City Press asked him to respond to Churkin's position. We are an independent state, Hoxhaj answered, we will be a state forever.
After Hoxhaj left and Churkin read out the proposed press statement that hadn't been agreed to, he was asked about "being rude" to Hoxhaj. "I didn't tackle him," Churkin said. "Let that be noted."
Inner City Press asked Churkin about his statement, alongside the Council's last Kosovo meeting, that UNMIK is rudderless and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should already have named a new head of UNMIK to replace Lamberto Zannier who left to head the OSCE.
Churkin said it is "obvious" that Ban Ki-moon is being pressured, and has given to to pressure, not to name a new head of UNMIK.
In this view, Ban's reportedly strong statements about Syria earlier on Thursday were not courageous, but rather another example of being pressured to do and say things.
Vuk Jeremic previously in UNSC, pressure on Ban re UNMIK not shown
Churkin recalled when the Kosovo delegation came into the General Assembly Hall and stayed, and said that the rule is that they can come in only during the speech of the delegation which invited them. Expect fireworks, during the UNGA and possibly tomorrow in Northern Kosovo. Watch this site.
Footnote: before it became clear that no press statement would be agreed to, Inner City Press asked Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic to come and "do a stakeout." He said, "I don't know if the camera is still there," referring to the time earlier in the summer when the UN TV camera was gone when he came out to speak.
This time, he said the vast majority of Council members said that KFOR and EULEX supporting Kosovo's moves was wrong. But even Churkin said that memberS opposed his simple draft press statement. And so it goes at the UN.
