By RIA Novosti
Belgrade : An IL-76 cargo plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry carrying 40 tons of humanitarian aid to ethnic Serbs in Kosovo landed at a Belgrade airport on Wednesday.
Belgrade will receive four shipments of food, including canned meat and fish, baby food, rice, sugar and substantial amounts of medical equipment, medicines, disinfectants and other healthcare products by April 10. The 140-metric-ton aid package is worth approximately 40 million rubles ($1.7 million).
After two days of customs checks, the aid will be transferred to a local Red Cross department for further shipment onto Kosovo.
“Humanitarian aid is very important for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said at a news conference held at the airport, adding that for the Serbian minority in the region the aid is “not only support, but also a moral impulse to live and survive in Kosovo.”
“There are 8,300 Serb families in Kosovo who need the aid,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed early last week to provide humanitarian aid to Serb areas in Kosovo after a request from Serbia’s government.
Kosovo, with a 90% ethnic-Albanian majority, has been recognized as a sovereign state by the United States, most European Union members, and several other countries since it proclaimed independence from Serbia on February 17.
At present, the region has a population of 1.9 million ethnic Albanians and 150,000 other nationalities, predominantly Serbs, Roma, Turks, Montenegrins and Goranis (Serb Muslims).