 Russia unable to grant citizenship to Kosovo Serbs December 1, 2011 - 20:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - According to the Citizenship Law, Russia is unable to respond to Kosovo Serbs’ request for Russian citizenship, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. “Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has studied the Kosovo Serbs’ request,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich. He added that Medvedev had also said that Russia would send all kind of humanitarian help to the Serbs in northern Kosovo and help reconstruct destroyed Serbian Orthodox holy places through UNESCO. “The request was submitted to President Dmitry Medvedev. Bearing in mind the fact that such request cannot be fulfilled in accordance with the Russian Citizenship Law, President Medvedev has ordered an intensified support to Serbs in other forms,” Lukashevich explained. He said that it was visible from the Kosovo Serbs’ request that “the people are in a difficult situation and feel hopeless” because they were forced to “respect so-called Republic of Kosovo’s dictate”. Lukashevich pointed out that “it has been decided to provide humanitarian aid for the northern Kosovo residents” on the Russian president’s order. “The first Emergency Situation Ministry’s plane carrying humanitarian aid has already been sent to Serbia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has stated and added that another batch of humanitarian aid was being prepared in accordance with Medvedev’s instructions. He also stressed that Russia was planning on intensifying reconstruction of the Serbian Orthodox churches through UNESCO financing. According to Lukashevich, Moscow “will continue to promote legitimate interests and rights of the Serbs living in Kosovo with political and diplomatic means”. “The Russian president has confirmed that our principled line that we do not recognize Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence is unchanged. The Foreign Ministry will continue to closely monitor the respect of the UN Resolution 1244 by everybody in Kosovo, including NATO and the EU,” he pointed out. The Russian Embassy in Belgrade received 22,000 citizenship applications from Kosovo Serbs in early November and the initiative was launched by Old Serbia Movement, Tanjug reported.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents  At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”.Up to 1% cashback when shopping on Wildberries with IDBank cards IDBank is launching an exclusive campaign on Wildberries for online shopping enthusiasts.Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event.Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. |
