A year ago on June 10 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244. This resolution, drafted with the active participation of Russia, put an end to the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia and put the Kosovo settlement back on track within the UN political and legal framework. The Security Council identified concrete objectives for the peaceful resolution of the Kosovo crisis on the basis of fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FRY and proper respect for the legitimate interests of all ethnic groups living in the province.

However, the implementation of Resolution 1244 continues to be a matter of serious concern to Russia and many other countries. This concern is connected, first of all, with a clear tendency to separate Kosovo from the FRY, which is fraught with serious and long-term destabilization in the entire Balkan region. Unfortunately, some actions by the leadership of the UN Mission (UNMIK) and the Force for Kosovo (KFOR), primarily the lack of proper cooperation on their part with Belgrade and the UN Security Council, further provoke such a dangerous course of events.

The situation with the security of non-Albanians in Kosovo also remains extremely unsatisfactory. Daily violence against Serbs and other non-Albanians and the failure to solve the problem of bringing hundreds of thousands of non-Albanian refugees back to the province are a direct result of the continuing "ethnic cleansing" campaign carried out by Kosovo separatists. Having failed to properly ensure the disarmament and demobilization of militants from the former Kosovo Liberation Army, the UNMIK and KFOR leaders are unable now to effectively stop their illegal activities, including under the "cover" of new structures such as the Kosovo Corps.

Meeting no proper resistance, Kosovo Albanian extremists have lately started supporting international terrorism. This is a challenge to the security of many countries, including those which are directly involved in the Kosovo settlement. We are also seriously worried by the lack of progress in the implementation of those provisions of Resolution 1244 which are called upon to set in motion a political process aimed at determining the future status of Kosovo inside the FRY and returning a limited Yugoslav army and police contingent to the province.

Without solving these and a whole number of other well-known problems, UNMIK and KFOR, which have done certain work to normalize the situation in Kosovo, will not be able to fulfill their mandate issued by the UN Security Council. Russia will continue to make a constructive contribution to the political settlement in Kosovo on the basis of full and strict compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244. There is no real alternative to enhanced efforts by the international community which is striving for peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans.