By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo will have a negative effect on Russia-NATO relations, Russia’s envoy to the alliance said Friday.
“This certainly makes dialogue difficult. There won’t be a war or any mutual understanding and promotion of other projects due to our conflicting outlook,” Dmitry Rogozin said during a video conference organized by RIA Novosti.
Russia was against the Serb breakaway province’s declaration of independence, which was backed by a number of Western countries.
Rogozin also said the process of recognizing Kosovo’s independence could be sponsored by the local drug mafia.
“Kosovo long ago became not just a base for drug trafficking to Europe, but also a massive laboratory. These huge sums could be used for political aims by Kosovo’s drug mafia to boost Kosovo’s declaration of independence,” Rogozin said.
Rogozin called on NATO forces deployed in Kosovo not to interfere in politics.
“We are not very happy with the information – that needs to be double-checked – that certain military leaders in the alliance have raised the issue of stopping representatives from the Serb leadership from entering Kosovo’s territory. This is beyond their mandate,” he said.
Rogozin said Russia has no interest in Kosovo’s separation, “We are not interested in this, and we have no desire to see any new tensions next to our borders.”