Dmitri Medvedev, Russia's first deputy prime minister and the presumptive successor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Monday committed the Kremlin to long-term support for Serbia against an independent Kosovo.
Medvedev appeared in Belgrade on Monday with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.
The meeting marked Medvedev's first significant foreign-policy appearance since he became the front-runner for Russia's highest office, and he restated Putin's position and made clear that it would be his own.
"We proceed from the understanding that Serbia is a single state with its jurisdiction spanning its entire territory, and we will stick to this principled stance in the future," he said.
Serbia is facing "conditions of illegitimate actions to unilaterally recognize Kosovo," he said.
The US reacted quickly to Medvedev's statements, restating its own support for Kosovo, and made clear that its break from Serbia was final, in Washington's view.
"We are going to continue to try to work with both the Russians and the Serbs on this, but I think that it ought to be clear to everybody at this point that Kosovo is never going to be a part of Serbia again," State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
Kosovo, a province of Serbia that had been under UN administration since 1999, declared its independence on Feb. 17.
The Kremlin had long objected to Kosovo's intention to seek independence and has called the declaration both illegal and a threat to international stability.
At one point Medvedev blamed the West for the unrest that has followed Kosovo's declaration, and any future repercussions.
"It is absolutely obvious that the crisis that has happened and which is the responsibility of those who have made the illegal decision will unfortunately have long-term consequences for peace on the European continent," he said.
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