PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE HEAD OPPOSED TO UKRAINIAN TROOP PULLOUT FROM KOSOVO

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Ex-defense minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, head of the Verkhovna Rada committee for national security and defense, says that Ukraine must pursue a responsible and predictable policy, so the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent must remain in Kosovo.

"I am strongly against the pullout, as the presence of Ukrainian peacekeepers in Kosovo is this country's contribution to the maintenance of European security," Hrytsenko emphasized, commenting to the press on a possible outcome of the declaration of Kosovo's independence for Ukraine.

However, he did not exclude that the structure of the peacekeeping contingent may change in the future, and police units will be deployed in Kosovo instead of the military. The command of the civil and defense missions of the international community may pass a decision to this effect.

Ukrainian peacekeepers have been carrying on their mission in Kosovo since September 1, 1999 among the UkrPolBat joint Ukrainian - Polish peacekeeping battalion of the KFOR East multinational brigade.

Hrytsenko also said that his committee stands for elaboration of Ukraine's consolidated position on a possible declaration of Kosovo's independence, and proposed consideration of this question as additional at the National Security and Defense Council meeting today.

Unfortunately, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO appeared to be unable to settle the problem. And if an actual declaration of independence and appearance of a new state in Kosovo comes true, this will challenge the system of interstate relations, Hrytsenko noted.

"There are more than 100 hot spots in the world, where such a precedent may provoke escalation of conflicts, which are not that easy to settle," he says. That is why Ukraine needs to decide on Kosovo in a good time, to find a balance between the positions of the countries of Western Europe, Russian Federation and other countries, and to clearly formulate new objectives of the Ukrainian contingent in Kosovo in order to safeguard personnel from a possible involvement in combat actions.

UKRINFORM