This Sunday, March 24th, will mark the passing of 20 years since the illegal NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
The first time I came across the name
"Sergey Lavrov" was in early 1999, when he was Russia's Ambassador and an emergency meeting had been called at the United Nations in New York. I had a personal interest in the developments in Yugoslavia because all four of my Grandparents had migrated to the US, shortly after the German invasion in 1941. It had always been their wish - to some day, go back to their homeland. When I was 10-11 years old, my Paternal Grandmother had requested to go back home, before she was too ill to travel and hopefully, locate lost relatives. My Father was head of household and began making plans to liquidate property, etc. for the move but unfortunately, he died of a sudden heart attack before the plans were completed. A short time after, my Grandmother passed away. If it wasn't for their deaths, chances are - I probably would have witnessed or been a casualty of the 1999 bombing.
Sergey Lavrov has "my deepest Respect", for his continued support of Yugoslavia and it's people and for his unwavering dedication in keeping the truth - alive! He's been there, ever since the first emergency United Nation's Session and for the last 20 years - has kept the truth - out in the open.
Thursday, March 25, 1999 - World: Europe - Russia condemns NATO at UN
BBC News | Europe | Russia condemns Nato at UN
Russia and China have condemned the NATO air strikes on Serbia as "an illegal military action".
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the United Nations' Security Council in New York, Russia's ambassador Sergey Lavrov accused the western military alliance of seeking to forge a role as a new "global policeman".
US assertions in council that NATO had the right under existing UN resolutions were backed by the UK, France, The Netherlands, Canada, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia and Germany, speaking for the European Union.
But Yugoslavia's UN representative Vladislav Jovanovic called on the council to condemn the "most brutal and unprovoked aggression". The air strikes had already led to "heavy destruction and great loss of human life," he said.
The Security Council meeting ended without any resolution on the deepening crisis as the five permanent members remained divided.
Yeltsin 'upset' - The meeting came after the UN's Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave qualified backing to the strikes, arguing that there were occasions when the use of force could be considered legitimate. But he added that the Security Council should have been involved in the decision.
Earlier, Russia's President Boris Yeltsin said he was "deeply upset" by the bombing, describing it as ''open aggression''.
He recalled Russia's chief military representative to NATO, Lieutenant-General Viktor Zavarzin and cancelled any military co-operation with the alliance.
China backs Russia - Echoing Russia's concerns, China's UN Ambassador Qin Huasun said Beijing opposed "power politics of the strong bullying the weak".
China' s President Jiang Zemin had earlier called for the strikes to be halted, saying that he was ''extremely concerned and worried" about action which risked "plunging the region into deeper turmoil".
'Peace on our soil' - French President Jacques Chirac said that the air attacks were launched to defend "peace on our soil, peace in Europe".
Four German aircraft joined the sorties over Serbia - the first time that any of its military have been involved in foreign combat since the Second World War - a prospect which has previously split German public opinion.
But Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said the strikes were "not aimed at the Serbian people" and promised the allies would do all they could to avoid loss of civilian lives.
'Grave consequences' - Libya also criticized the action, warning of ''grave consequences". Iraq which said the strikes had no "international legitimacy" and accused the US of bearing "a large responsibility in crimes of aggression and killing in the world".
The Serb chairman of Bosnia's collective presidency, Zivko Radisic, also condemned the action.
The Vatican deplored the use of force as ''a defeat for humanity''. Pope John Paul said he was praying for ''the gift of peace''
Security stepped up - Meanwhile, neighbouring countries have been reinforcing their borders.
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned: "The fire in Kosovo could engulf the whole Balkans'' and Albania has sent extra troops to its border and set up bunkers and shelters. The government has also set up more camps to handle refugees from Kosovo.
Greece boosted security along its borders with Albania and Macedonia, fearing a possible refugee wave. Officials said the NATO member would not join any direct military action against Serbia - a traditional Greek ally.
Fri Mar 22, 2019 - Russia: West Covering up Their Crimes Committed During Bombing of Yugoslavia
Farsnews
Western countries are covering up the crimes their representatives committed during NATO’s military operation in Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in an interview for NTV’s "U-Turn Above the Atlantic" documentary.
"I think the West has been and will continue doing everything possible to prevent it from happening," Lavrov said when speaking about the possibility of an international investigation into NATO representatives in connection with civilian deaths, strikes on civilian facilities and the use of depleted uranium munitions during the bombing of Yugoslavia, TASS reported.
"As for the banned munitions, the Serbs are conducting an investigation. Once it is over, we will see what can be done to make sure that the crime doesn’t go unpunished," the Russian top diplomat noted.
"I would like to reiterate, I don’t see any chance that international agencies that involve the West and where Western votes count will go for it. They will make every possible effort to prevent it," Lavrov added.
He pointed out that in 2010, Swiss lawmaker Dick Marty had published a report, "which contained horrifying information about the crimes of Kosovo Liberation Army militants, who abducted people for human trafficking purposes".
The West had to make the Kosovo authorities give their consent to establish a special court to investigate into the crimes mentioned in the report. An American national was appointed the court’s prosecutor. However, the court stopped operating several years ago, the Russian foreign minister pointed out.
"Since then, new prosecutors have been appointed twice, the incumbent one is American, but not a single charge has been brought. I doubt there is any clear investigation underway. So Western countries will continue to sweep under the rug the facts that prove they and their underlings are involved in crimes against humanity," Lavrov emphasized.
According to the Russian foreign minster, NATO’s bombing campaign was a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
"One time NATO airstrikes hit a passenger train crossing a bridge. And its attack on a television center is entirely unacceptable," he said.
Lavrov stressed that the consequences of the West’s fight against Yugoslavian media were still there.
"They try to use the experience they gained then designating some media outlets as propaganda tools. This is what RT and Sputnik are called in France, they are banned from attending events for which other media outlets are accredited," he explained.
"This is when certain news outlets began to accuse journalists of being propaganda tools, this is how they justified attacks on Belgrade’s television center," Lavrov noted.
When speaking about the 1999 massacre in Kosovo’s Racak village, which prompted NATO to start talking about the need to use force in Yugoslavia, the Russian top diplomat said it had been a deliberate provocation.
"It was not a reason but an artificial excuse. It has long been known that it was a provocation," he stated.
"The killed civilians turned out to be militants from the Albanian liberation army, the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, who had been told to wear civilian clothes," Lavrov pointed out.
"Unfortunately, then OSCE mission chief William Walker was the one who organized that provocation. When he arrived at the scene and saw dead bodies in civilian clothes, he said right away that an act of genocide had taken place there," he added.
"He [Walker] did the same that the so-called White Helmets are doing in Syria, staging incidents to provide the West with excuses to attack a sovereign state," Lavrov emphasized.
The Russian foreign minister also said that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had failed to release the full report of a Finnish forensic team that had tried to determine the circumstances of the Racak deaths.
"I demanded - with the support of my colleagues - at a UN Security Council meeting that the report be published, but it never happened. Then International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte provided the UN Security Council with a brief, which had been watered down to the maximum extent and sounded neutral," Lavrov added.
Western countries first moved to replace international laws when they began to bomb Yugoslavia in 1999, Lavrov said.
"All Western permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - vigorously called for using force," added Lavrov, who was Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations back in 1999.
"Then non-permanent members Canada and the Netherlands supported them. Russia, China and then non-permanent members Argentina and Brazil most actively opposed those plans and demands to use force," he noted.
However, in Lavrov’s words, "there was no stopping the Americans".
"They had long made a decision and sought the UN Security Council’s blessing. But when it became clear that it wouldn’t work, they carried out a unilateral aggression against a sovereign state, violating the UN Charter and OSCE principles and disrupting the entire world order established following World War II," the Russian top diplomat emphasized.
"It continues to this day. It was then when the double-talk began and the Americans moved to destroy international law and replace it with some rules-based order," he went on to say. "Now, Western countries tend to use the term ‘rules-based order’ instead of calling for compliance with international law," he noted.
"The difference is clear. International law came to be as a result of consensus-based negotiations, while rules are invented by the West that demands everyone follow them," Lavrov said, adding that "it all began 20 years ago".
A missile hit the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during NATO’s operation in Yugoslavia, killing three Chinese nationals.
March 22, 2019 - Lavrov: NATO airstrike on Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 could have been deliberate
Lavrov: NATO airstrike on Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 could have been deliberate
The NATO airstrike on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on May 7, 1999, could have been deliberate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview for NTV’s "U-Turn Above the Atlantic" documentary.
"I think it was an accident but I am not completely sure," Lavrov said when asked to comment on the airstrike.
A missile hit the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during NATO’s operation in Yugoslavia, killing three Chinese nationals. The North Atlantic Alliance claims it was a mistake, while the Federal Procurement Office located nearby was the actual target of the attack.
The situation on the continent continues to be complicated, Russia's top diplomat noted.
March 21, 2019 - NATO’s actions violate security indivisibility principle, Lavrov says
NATO’s actions violate security indivisibility principle, Lavrov says
NATO’s actions close to Russia’s borders violate the principle of the indivisibility of security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the Grand and General Council (parliament) of San Marino on Thursday.
"It is no secret that the situation on our common continent continues to be complicated. We see the ongoing policy aimed at stepping up NATO’s military and political activities and bringing the alliance’s military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders," Lavrov noted.
"We observe violations of the principle of the indivisibility of security despite the fact that commitments not to bolster one’s security at the expense of others were enshrined in OSCE and NATO-Russia Council documents approved by consensus at the top level," he said.
