Russian Candidate Denounces Kosovo

By C. J. CHIVERS

MOSCOW — Dmitri A. Medvedev, Russia’s first deputy prime minister and the presumptive successor to President Vladimir V. Putin, on Monday committed the Kremlin to long-term support in backing Serbia against an independent Kosovo.

Mr. Medvedev appeared in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. It was Mr. Medvedev’s first significant foreign-policy appearance since he became the front-runner for Russia’s highest office, and he restated Mr. Putin’s position and made clear that it would be his own.

“We proceed from the understanding that Serbia is a single state with its jurisdiction spanning its entire territory and we will stick to this principled stance in the future,” he said, in remarks reported widely on news broadcasts in Russia.

“Serbia,” he added, faces “conditions of illegitimate actions to unilaterally recognize Kosovo.”

The United States reacted quickly to Mr. Medvedev’s statements. restating its own support for Kosovo, and made clear that in Washington’s view, its break from Serbia was final.

“We are going to continue to try to work with both the Russians and the Serbs on this but I think that it ought to be clear to everybody at this point that Kosovo is never going to be a part of Serbia again,” Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Kostunica said on Monday that state-sponsored protests against the Kosovo’s declaration would continue until foreign governments that had recognized Kosovo changed their position.

Kosovo, a province of Serbia that had been under United Nations administration since 1999, declared its independence on Feb. 17. Russia had long objected to Kosovo’s intention to seek independence and has called the declaration both illegal and a threat to international stability.

The Kremlin has also complained bitterly that Western governments have recognized Kosovo and warned that it could increase its support for separatist regions in Georgia and Moldova, both of which have regions outside of their control that received Russian support.

In his brief visit, Mr. Medvedev struck notes emphasizing the traditional and continuing ties between Serbia and Russia. He visited St. Sava’s cathedral in Belgrade with President Boris Tadic, and an oil refinery as well, and pledged to invest in Serbia’s energy sector.

Mr. Medvedev, who is also chairman of Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas monopoly, also signed an agreement to build a section of the South Stream gas pipeline through Serbia, which will carry Russian gas through the Balkans to the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr. Medvedev has used his presidential campaign to cast himself as a progressive who wants to promote freedom in Russia. His speeches have raised questions about whether he might soften some of Russia’s image and ease some of the state’s grip on political life. His remarks on Monday, however, re-emphasized that many of his views and public positions overlap with those of his primary sponsor, Mr. Putin.

At point, for example, he placed blame for the unrest that has followed Kosovo’s declaration, and any future repercussions, on the West. “It is absolutely obvious that the crisis that has happened and is the responsibility of those who have made the illegal decision will unfortunately have long-term consequences for peace on the European continent,” he said.