YouSaid · the spoken record

Lavrov

lines on the record: 2,533
first: 1994-09-23
most recent: 2023-09-20
sittings or episodes: 322
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We agree that today we can note with satisfaction progress in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the normalization of life in Kosovo, which have been advanced by, inter alia, the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General, Mr. Steiner, and by his putting forward the concept of "standards before status". In the region, the Provisional Institutions of Self- Government have begun their work and have begun the transfer to them of some of the competencies of the Special Representative. The second round of municipal elections has taken place. Gradually the new Kosovo police forces are coming into their own.”
2003-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4702 (2003) · source
“Mr. Gatilov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We would like to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General for his report on the activities of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in Kosovo and also to the head of the Mission, Mr. Steiner, for his substantive briefing on the situation in the region. The assessments and analyses contained therein, in addition to the observations and conclusions of the most recent Security Council mission to Kosovo and Belgrade, provide a good basis for a comprehensive consideration of the situation in the region and around it and allow us to summarize the first year of Mr. Steiner's activities as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo.”
2003-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4702 (2003) · source
“We also agree with the Secretary-General's approach to this issue by integrating the child factor into the mandates of peacekeeping operations, providing humanitarian agencies with access to conflict areas and separating civilians from armed elements and maintaining the civilian nature of areas in which refugees and internally displaced persons are assembled. Further increasing the work done by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in the area of information and education at the country level will help us achieve our common goals.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“A child traumatized by war early in his life and who knows nothing except weapons, hatred and violence will hardly be able to live normally under conditions of peace and law and order. Another important subject is that of the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. Children, and girls in particular, are the most vulnerable group in this regard during conflict situations. We are outraged that sexual violence is practised not only by members of armed groups but also by humanitarian personnel and peacekeepers, namely, people in whom victims place special trust and who are expected to provide only kindness and help. Russia fully supports the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Special Representative to provide comprehensive training for United Nations personnel, to monitor their conduct and to prevent impunity for perpetrators.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“We would like to touch on a couple of points that we believe are of priority importance. First and foremost, I would like to refer to the problem of the use of child soldiers by armed groups, so-called rebels and terrorist groups. We strongly condemn the recruitment of child soldiers, and we believe that those guilty of it should be brought to justice. We support the efforts of the Secretary-General and of his Special Representative to identify parties to armed conflicts that continue this shameful practice. By combating the use of children in hostilities we are not just protecting them from the horrors of war, we are also preventing their inevitably becoming anti-social adult members of society.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“One of those barriers could, and indeed should, be the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose Statute entered into force last year. We are convinced that the ICC will merge harmoniously into the existing system for maintaining international peace and security, with the United Nations and the Security Council playing a key role. This will ensure that there is no evasion of punishment for the most heinous international crimes, including crimes against children. An important milestone was the entry into force, on 12 February 2002, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. This instrument should facilitate the full protection of children from the horrors of war. We commend the Secretary-General on his report.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Of course, they must function with the Council's overall political support. The problems faced by children are far from being limited to armed conflict. The protection of children must be seen in a broader context. Child abandonment, drug addiction, trafficking - including trafficking in children's organs and tissues - and child sexual exploitation are but part of the full and tragic list of problems that are threatening children today, and which threaten the future of mankind as a whole. A separate point must be made about the problem of terrorism, which is becoming increasingly ruthless and which spares neither adults nor children. It is our shared obligation to establish reliable barriers to the spread of this scourge, as well as to other widespread inequities.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“The best way to protect children is to prevent conflicts from erupting or to settle them before they become destructive. The role of the United Nations and of the Security Council - which bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security - is difficult to overestimate here. However, the practical implementation of humanitarian objectives aimed at protecting children, including those in armed conflicts, should be the prerogative primarily of specialized organizations and humanitarian agencies: the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other bodies that have their own mandates and are operationally and financially autonomous.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful to the Secretary-General for introducing his report (S/2002/1299), to Olara Otunnu for all the work that he is doing, and to Carol Bellamy for her contribution to today's discussion. Unfortunately, the suffering of children as a result of hunger, disease and violence remains a bitter reality today. The changed nature of armed conflicts has meant that more than 90 per cent of their victims are now civilians and at least half of them are children, who account for more than 65 per cent of refugees and internally displaced persons. Protecting the rights of children, including those in armed conflict and post- conflict situations, is one of the international community's most important tasks.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“However, we decided not to object to the adoption of the resolution, based on the fact that the Goods Review List is not a denial list, but only one that provides for the adoption in the sanctions Committee of well-considered and valid - and this includes from the humanitarian standpoint - decisions on specific contracts. We trust that in future all the members of the sanctions Committee will take a constructive approach in considering such requests. Our View of future work and of the improvement of the Goods Review List and procedures will, to a significant extent, depend on the effectiveness of the activities of the sanctions Committees in approving humanitarian and other types of civilian goods.”
2002-12-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4683 (2002) · source
“We should especially like to recall that we believe the limitations on trucking and transport vehicles to be unjustifiably harsh, as such vehicles are necessary for ensuring normal civilian transportation. In that context, we are seriously concerned at information that came recently to the Secretariat that, in the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait, virtually all requests made by Iraq for truck transport and for trucking equipment have been blocked. This trend has a very negative impact on the possibility of full distribution of humanitarian goods to the Iraqi population and is further complicating an already difficult situation in such important sectors of the economy as water supply, electric power, irrigation and oil refining.”
2002-12-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4683 (2002) · source
“We hope that the Office of the Iraq Programme, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency, taking the experience of resolution 1409 (2002) fully into account, will make recommendations with regard to corrections to the List and procedures with a view to facilitating the flow of humanitarian goods to Iraq. It is of key importance that the resolution provides for the possible lifting of sanctions. However, the consultations that were held did not enable us to take various views - including proposals by the Russian Federation - fully into account. We believe that some wording in the List imposes too many restrictions and affects not only dual-use goods but also goods that are exclusively civilian in nature.”
2002-12-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4683 (2002) · source
“The resolution just adopted by the Security Council provides for the introduction of a number of adjustments in the way in which humanitarian deliveries to Iraq are carried out, pertaining to the Goods Review List and procedures for its application. Russia was unable to support the draft resolution and thus abstained from voting. We note that, in the course of the consultations that preceded today's vote, the draft resolution's text became more balanced. In particular, it now includes an important observation that, in future, review of the List will cover not only additions of new elements but also deletions of entries.”
2002-12-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4683 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Russia has always considered the United Nations humanitarian programme in Iraq an opportunity to satisfy the basic needs of that country's civilian population with the assistance of the international community. Given the continuing trade embargo, it is the only way to solve Iraq's humanitarian problems. We hope that, as the relevant Security Council resolutions are implemented with the full cooperation of the Iraqi side, a prospect will open for the suspension and then the lifting of sanctions. That moment has not yet come, and therefore the uninterrupted delivery of major humanitarian goods to Iraq is of vital importance.”
2002-12-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4683 (2002) · source
“Implementation of the resolution will require goodwill on the part of all those involved in the process of seeking a settlement of the Iraq question. They must have the willingness to concentrate on moving forward towards the declared common goals, not yielding to the temptation of unilateral interpretation of the resolution's provisions and preserving the consensus and unity of all members of the Security Council.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“Paragraph 8 refers to personnel of the United Nations, to those of the IAEA and to any other personnel whom Members of the United Nations may provide to UNMOVIC or to the IAEA on the request of those organizations. Like all other members of the Security Council, we join in the appeal made today by the Secretary- General on the need for Iraq to comply with all of its disarmament commitments and to cooperate fully with the inspectors of UNMOVIC and of the IAEA, on the basis of the resolution adopted today and Baghdad's declared willingness to cooperate. We note the important role that has been played and continues to be played by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and by members of the League in ensuring a comprehensive political settlement of the situation concerning Iraq.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“We also note the following clarifying points, presented by the sponsors when they introduced the resolution and confirmed by the heads of UNMOVIC and of the IAEA. First of all, with regard to paragraph 3, more than 30 days will probably be needed for Iraq to submit information on non-military programmes in the chemical and biological areas. However, any delay there will not constitute a violation. Concerning paragraph 7, nothing in the resolution affects the status of UNMOVIC, of the IAEA or of members of their staff, as independent international personnel. The cooperation of Member States with UNMOVIC and with the IAEA will be carried out fully in accordance with the status and mandates of those organizations.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“The Russian Federation made a choice based on principle to support the resolution, guided by its special responsibility, as a permanent member of the Security Council, for the maintenance of international peace and security. What is most important is that the resolution deflects the direct threat of war and that it opens the road towards further work in the interests of a political diplomatic settlement. It is particularly important that - as many of my colleagues have said today - in the event of any kind of disagreement over disarmament matters, it is the heads of UNMOVIC and of the IAEA who will report that to the Security Council, and that it is the Council that will consider the situation that has developed. That is the sequence set forth clearly in paragraphs 4, 11 and 12 of the resolution.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“It is also confirms the need for full implementation of resolution 1382 (2001), whereby members of the Security Council undertook to seek a comprehensive settlement of the Iraq problem, which assumes the lifting of sanctions. In addition, we note that the new resolution contains strengthened inspection procedures, which are necessary only to hasten attainment of the goal of non- resumption of Iraqi programmes relating to weapons of mass destruction. Those procedures will be implemented by the heads of UNMOVIC and of the IAEA, fully mindful of their responsibility, which requires professionalism, objectivity and impartiality. The resolution's wording is not ideal - a fact that the sponsors themselves acknowledge - but that reflects the very complicated nature of the compromise that was reached.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“It is important that the resolution's sponsors today officially confirmed in the Security Council that that is their understanding and that they provided an assurance that the resolution's objective is the implementation of existing Security Council decisions concerning Iraq through inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). That is an objective shared by all members of the Council. In that connection, it is of fundamental importance that the resolution clearly confirms that all Members of the United Nations respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and of all other States in the region.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“Sharing the concern of all members of the Security Council and the heads of UNMOVIC and IAEA to ensure the most effective inspection activity possible, our delegation participated constructively in work on additional procedures for inspections that would ensure there would be no resumption of Iraqi programmes for weapons of mass destruction and at the same time would create the conditions for a comprehensive settlement of the situation around Iraq, including the lifting of sanctions. At all stages of this work, we were guided by the need to direct the process of a settlement onto a diplomatic and political path and not to allow a military scenario. As a result of intensive negotiations, the resolution just adopted contains no provisions for the automatic use of force.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation)(spoke in Russian): At the very beginning of our work in the Council on this matter, we started with the need to ensure that international inspectors be sent to Iraq as soon as possible, responding to the clearly stated consent by Baghdad to the inspection and monitoring activities of UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Iraq, without preconditions.”
2002-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4644 (2002) · source
“The Charter powers of the Security Council allow it at any time to make decisions about any measures which could be required to eliminate real threats. The important thing now is to achieve a comprehensive settlement, based on political and diplomatic methods, with the central role of the Security Council and in strict compliance with Council resolutions on the norms of international law. In this we see the common platform for the United Nations work on Iraq and we are prepared to interact on this platform with other members of the Security Council. This is what we have been called to by the vast majority of the international community during the discussions yesterday and today. That is the opinion of the world community. And that is geo- political reality as well.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“If we are all sincerely interested in the non- renewal of weapons of mass destruction programmes in Iraq, then what is the remaining issue? What are we waiting for? The inspectors can travel as early as tomorrow and Iraq knows that it must fully and scrupulously cooperate with the inspectors. If we are talking not about the deployment of the inspections but about an attempt to use the Security Council to create a legal basis for the use of force, or even for a regime change of a United Nations Member State - and this goal has been constantly and publicly alluded to by several officials - then we see no way how the Security Council could give its consent to that. I reiterate that the crux of the matter is not in the number of resolutions.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“At the same time, with the efforts of non-renewal of Weapons of Mass Destruction programmes in Iraq, we must continue to press for Iraq's compliance with all other Security Council requirements, particularly the need to shed light on the fate of the missing detainees, a swift conclusion of the process underway to return the Kuwaiti archives and a return of Kuwaiti property. When we listen to the media, we might get the impression that the most important thing is to reach an agreement on whether or nor we are adopting one resolution or two. In fact, the issue is not how many resolutions, or do we need any resolutions. That diverts attention from the crux of the matter. But in fact we believe that the crux of the matter is the following.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“If the Council has a prevailing desire to give further support to UNMOVIC and the IAEA in the interest of an effective implementation of existing resolutions, then we will be prepared to look at the relevant proposals, including and based on the great importance of maintaining Council unity. We are calling for collective steps by the international community. Unilateral actions do not facilitate the efforts for a settlement, as we see over and over again, according to the example of the unilaterally announced so-called no-fly zones.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“In this way we have everything we need to ensure that there is no renewal of the proscribed military programmes in Iraq and that there is a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis. We see no reason to delay deployment of the UNMOVIC and IAEA structures in Iraq. Neither formally nor legally, in order to begin the inspections, do we need any new decisions to be taken by the Security Council. This has been confirmed by Messrs. Blix and ElBaradei. They do not need new decisions. They need clarity. Do all Security Council members support the swift redeployment of the inspectors in Iraq?”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“Up to now, we, like all unbiased observers, have not seen any kind of persuasive evidence that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or programmes to develop them. Nor have we seen any other facts that would situate Iraq in the context of combating terrorism. The only way to remove any doubts is the immediate redeployment of the international inspectors to Iraq. And today, there are no legal or technical impediments to doing this. Moreover, as a result of the intensive efforts of a whole host of countries, including Russia, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General, the leadership of UNMOVIC and IAEA, Baghdad has consented, not only to an unconditional return of the United Nations inspectors, but also to UNMOVIC's and IAEA's new, enhanced and very effective parameters for conducting the inspections.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“We will not forget the fact that in resolution 1382 (2001), the members unanimously stated their commitment to a comprehensive settlement on the basis of existing Council decisions, including a fine- tuned Security Council resolution 1284 (1999). The Security Council must carry out these commitments, as the other part of Council resolution 1382 (2001) was carried out, and create a goods review list. So there were two parts to the resolution. One part of it has been complied with, the other has not. Russia, being a responsible member of the international community, has done and will do its utmost to prevent a renewal of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programmes. We are prepared to cooperate on this matter with all States.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“And then, a year later, we drafted Security Council resolution 1284 (1999), which allowed us to renew the inspections on a new genuinely international basis. However, this resolution contained extremely ambiguous criteria for suspension of the sanctions, which gave an opportunity to individual Security Council members at their discretion to maintain the embargo indefinitely. For this reason Russia, together with France, China and Malaysia, abstained in the vote on resolution 1284 (1999). We made proposals to give concrete substance to the criteria of sanctions suspension in the context of a comprehensive settlement. These proposals are well known and they remain in force.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“His report came to the Council only after United States and United Kingdom aviation had launched military strikes against Iraq. In fact, the United States Government, after these strikes, stated that the strikes had dealt with the issue of eliminating the vestiges of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programmes, although the relevant information was not given to the Security Council. The former UNSCOM, in this way, through its acts of provocation, fully discredited itself and simultaneously undermined the pre-December 1998 prospects for reaching a comprehensive settlement. The Security Council then found itself in a profound crisis not of its own making on the question of Iraq and for a long time was unable to get out of this impasse.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“This has been circulated to Security Council Members and everyone can become acquainted with it. There is a virtually complete picture of the missile situation as well. A significant portion of the stocks of chemical weapons have been destroyed, although there were some outstanding issues requiring further clarification. The largest problems persisted in the biological sphere. But on these issues and all the outstanding issues, solutions were possible. At any rate, documents of the former UNSCOM. testify that such was the case. However, this did not in fact happen. In December 1998 the head of the former UNSCOM provoked a crisis, arbitrarily withdrawing inspectors from Iraq without the approval of the Security Council.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“As a result, they achieved significant progress in shutting down Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. The inspections allowed us to destroy more components of weapons of mass destruction than were destroyed by the military strikes against Iraq during the Gulf War. We have managed to structure a material balance in the nuclear sphere which, in 1998, in the opinion of IAEA, allowed us to convert this file into a long-term monitoring regime. Unfortunately, the Security Council was not able to recognize this fact four years ago. It is an important thing that this conclusion was supported by the Director General of IAEA, Mr. ElBaradei, in his letter to the President of the Security Council of 14 October, in which he clearly indicated that there are no outstanding unresolved nuclear disarmament issues.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“The current ongoing impasse is rooted not only in the position of the Iraqi side, although we are far from condoning Baghdad's behaviour, while the need for Iraq to meet all its obligations under Security Council resolutions has been frequently alluded to yesterday and today. We fully support such assessments. At the same time, in a number of instances the Security Council has been unable to hold up its own end with respect to an objective assessment of the situation and to meeting its own obligations to work for a comprehensive settlement in the Persian Gulf. Throughout their many years of work in Iraq, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted some 7,000 inspections.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation actively supported the request of the Non-Aligned Movement to convene this open debate on Iraq. It gives the Security Council an opportunity to hear and consider the opinions of all States Members of the United Nations before determining how to proceed on the question of Iraq. This approach is in full consonance with the United Nations Charter. For almost 12 years now, the international community has sought a way to settle the Iraqi situation. Throughout that time, the Security Council has adopted more than 50 resolutions and endured several severe crises.”
2002-10-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4625Resumption3 (2002) · source
“Today, those resolutions are not being implemented. The Security Council must respond to this challenge to its authority. We must actively and firmly seek to achieve an immediate halt to this absolutely unacceptable development of the situation in the Palestinian territories, which is a real threat to peace and security. Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, will be guided by those principles in considering the draft resolution that will be introduced in the Council.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“It is important to end the blockade and the destruction of the headquarters of the head of the Palestinian National Authority, and to give the Palestinian Authority some real possibility of introducing order into the territory, first of all by halting extremist attacks and arresting persons guilty of terrorist acts. At this critical moment, it is important to make use of all existing mechanisms to swiftly stabilize the situation. It is necessary to make use of the potential of the Security Council, of international mediators and of key Middle Eastern countries in order to halt this escalation of the conflict and clear the way for negotiations on the basis of what the Quartet has agreed upon, which opens the way to a comprehensive settlement based on the resolutions of the Security Council.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Last weekend the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Igor Ivanov, had telephone conversations with the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat; Shimon Peres, the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel; Amre Moussa, the Secretary- General of the League of Arab States; the United States Secretary of State; the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Denmark; the United Nations Secretary-General; and Mr. Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Union. They exchanged views about what steps should be taken to resolve this crisis. Russia is convinced that it is now extremely important to do everything possible to achieve an immediate halt to the violence.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“It happened when there were prospects for emerging from the crisis on the basis of the proposals agreed by the Quartet of international mediators in New York on 17 September. Their proposals had been supported by the Security Council. The extremist forces are not interested in a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East. They want to undermine the situation again and thrust the Palestinians and the Israelis into another spiral of bloodshed and confrontation. It is extremely important not to let the opponents of the peace process achieve their goals. We would strongly urge both sides not to yield to the emotions and provocations of the extremists, not to allow the unfolding of this scenario of Violence.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The situation around the Palestinian territories continues to deteriorate and is threatening to get out of control. The large-scale terrorist acts in Israel were followed by harsh action by the Israeli army against the residence of the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat, in Ramallah. Now, in response to that, currently there are mass protest demonstrations under way in the Palestinian territories. In clashes with the Israeli troops in Ramallah, Tulkarem and Nablus, there are dead and wounded. All of this happened at the very moment when a drop in the level of violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was being noted.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Covie, invited members of the Security Council to visit Kosovo in order to get to know the situation on the ground and to assess the progress made. We think such a visit would be timely and could perhaps take place in November after the holding of municipal elections. Of course, the mission would also visit Belgrade to make contact with the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We think that sending a Security Council mission would make it possible once again to demonstrate strong support for UNMIK's work to secure full implementation of resolution 1244 (1999). Such a mission would also serve to reaffirm the international community's commitment to a comprehensive settlement.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“It is important that the international presence act in a very responsible manner and that it avoid any rash or improperly thought out action. There is another unresolved problem: the demarcation of the Yugoslavia-Macedonia border in keeping with the Agreement concluded between Belgrade and Skopje. The demarcation of the Kosovo section of that border will be possible only with the direct participation of UNMIK. Once again, we call for an acceleration of the start of the work that must be done in this regard. This is an important matter, which needs to be resolved; it is being delayed in an unjustified way. Speaking in this Chamber last April, Michael Steiner and the head of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/ Serbia Coordinating Centre for Kosovo and Metohija, Mr.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“We believe that the Security Council should help create the necessary political background and stop any attacks on international staff performing the tasks entrusted to them. Attempts by Kosovo's institutions of self-government to call into question the legitimacy of UNMIK's efforts to combat crime and extremism are also inadmissible. In fact, the representative of Cameroon has just mentioned this point. I agree with his position regarding the need to condemn such attempts. The question of Mitrovica continues to be an acute problem. We are convinced that we need to use exclusively political methods to resolve this matter, in close contact with Belgrade and without any use of force or type of coercion. The situation in Mitrovica is very sensitive.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“The fact is that those groups have representatives in Kosovo's governing structures. It is precisely those groups that provoked the disturbances in Pristina and a number of other places by protesting legitimate actions taken by UNMIK and KFOR police to arrest former KLA commanders and people who had committed serious crimes. We are convinced that, strictly in keeping with resolution 1244 (1999), UNMIK should continue to take robust action to restore order in the province and to establish law and order. In that regard, UNMIK should staunchly protect its staff from all kinds of insinuation and should counter any attempts to discredit them, including politically motivated attempts.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“According to NATO reports, which are available from Brussels, there are still cases of intimidation and of trying to instil fear in Serbs. Explosions and house burnings also continue to take place there. Obviously, similar actions, including the examples just given by Mr. Annabi, are aimed at expelling Serbs from the province. That is of course intolerable. We resolutely support the efforts of Michael Steiner to consolidate the rule of law in Kosovo. However, it is quite clear that the United Nations Mission in Kosovo is still facing many serious problems in this area. We believe the main problem is the deliberate resistance by the criminalized segment of society, principally by former fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and members of other radical nationalist groups.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“It remains a fact that there are still frequent cases of those bodies disregarding the interests of minorities, which could have a negative impact on the level of minority participation in the upcoming municipal elections. If that happens, we will not have the balance needed to create the conditions for the further normalization of daily life in Kosovo. The situation regarding inter-ethnic relations is already alarming. Efforts by UNMIK to establish the necessary conditions for the return of minorities have so far not produced significant results. Mr. Annabi has mentioned how delicate this problem is. In fact, according to assessments by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), one of the most problematic areas in terms of ethnically motivated violence, is the south-east sector of Kosovo, namely, the Klokot area.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“We note with satisfaction the success that has been achieved by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) under the leadership of Michael Steiner to establish the institutions of provisional self-government in the province, to resolve outstanding economic and social problems, to establish a dialogue with the Serbian Return Coalition and to develop cooperation with the Belgrade Government. However, local authorities still have a long way to go before we can seriously start talking about consolidation of the day-to-day workings of Kosovo's institutions of self-government and about the principle of multi-ethnicity.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are pleased, Sir, to see you, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, in the Chair. We are grateful to your delegation for having taken the initiative to convene today's meeting to consider the problem of Kosovo in depth. We would also like to thank Assistant Secretary-General Hedi Annabi for his detailed briefing. As was made clear in the briefing, the situation in and around Kosovo continues to be very difficult and requires that the international community give it constant attention and demonstrate its proactive involvement in it.”
2002-09-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4605 (2002) · source
“Over the past few days, working together with other members of the Security Council, we have made real efforts to try to find a solution within the norms of current international law that would also meet the concerns of the United States. We believe it necessary for the Security Council to continue its efforts in order to find consensus very soon.”
2002-06-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4563 (2002) · source
“Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We, too, would like to thank the Secretary- General for the statement that he made. The Russian delegation, guided by its consistent support for the peacekeeping activity of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, voted in favour of the draft resolution in order to ensure the implementation of the Dayton Agreements. We regret that the draft resolution was not adopted, for reasons which, as has been noted today, are not directly related to the settlement in Bosnia. The reasons relate to the problem of the relationship between the United States and the International Criminal Court. We understand those problems.”
2002-06-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4563 (2002) · source