Kosovo (Hansard, 13 February 2001)

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the UN Interim Administrator for Kosovo regarding the security situation in Kosovo and Southern Serbia. [149775]

§ Mr. Vaz
The new special representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) visited London shortly before taking up his post, and held discussions with me and with senior officials. Staff of the British Office in Pristina are in close touch with him, and we seek actively to support84W him in his important work. This mandate does not extend to Southern Serbia outside Kosovo, but we receive regular reports on the situation there from various sources.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the security situation in(a) Kosovo and (b) Presevo Valley. [149774]

§ Mr. Vaz
UNMIK and KFOR are working actively to improve public order and counter extremist activity in Kosovo. Although isolated violent incidents continue to occur, most of the province is calm. There have been a number of violent demonstrations recently in Mitrovica, to which KFOR and UNMIK have responded. British troops, as part of the KFOR reserve, were temporarily deployed there. We fully support UNMIK's efforts to promote greater inter-communal peace in the town.
We remain concerned about the risk of serious violence in the Presevo Valley area of Serbia, and commend the FRY authorities for the restraint they have so far shown. We welcome the recent announcement by Belgrade of proposals to resolve the conflict, and the fact that some representatives of the ethnic Albanian armed groups also seem prepared to negotiate. The United Kingdom, with our partners and allies, will want to do whatever we can to support a peaceful outcome.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the UN Interim Administrators for Kosovo regarding the current violence by military demonstrators against NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo. [149776]

§ Mr. Vaz
We have been in regular contact with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) about the demonstrations against KFOR peacekeepers in Mitrovica. We condemn all acts of violence against KFOR. We support UNMIK' s attempts to build confidence and ethnic tolerance in the town.