ROME. Feb 4 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's defense minister has said he is concerned about the possible creation of independent state in Kosovo.
"We are closely watching the situation in Kosovo. There are some things that we do not like, among them the practical non- fulfillment of UN Security Council Resolution 1244," he told a news conference in Rome on Monday.
"Kosovo is drifting towards an independent state de jure and de facto," Sergei Ivanov said.
Russia has decided to reduce its force in Kosovo, "because the force is excessively large, especially in the sectors where Serbs have left," Ivanov said.
Yet the decision to reduce the Russian military force in Kosovo "does not mean that we will go away," Ivanov stressed. "We will keep control over the Eastern sector and Pristina."
After the Russian force is reduced, "it will be slightly less than 1,000 strong," Ivanov said. "Anyway, Russia's force in Kosovo will be the largest of all ex-Soviet nations," he noted.
Ivanov called for mounting political efforts aimed at stabilization in the territory. "It is time to establish more political bodies, not military ones, in Kosovo," he said.
NATO Secretary General George Robertson, who also took part in the press conference, praised efforts of the Russian servicemen to stabilize the situation in Kosovo. According to him, there are no armed engagements in the territory, but violence remains on a very high level.
Robertson said KFOR would continue operating in Kosovo until Resolution 1244 is not implemented in full.