UNITED NATIONS - Russia and Britain clashed Wednesday in a Security Council debate on last March's rioting in the Serb-populated part of the flashpoint Kosovo town of Kosovska Mitrovica that left one Ukrainian policeman dead.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin blasted as "unwarranted" a decision by leaders of the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to use force against Serb protesters opposed to Kosovo's independence unilaterally declared by the ethnic Albanian majority in February.
He accused the UNMIK leadership of rushing into "that provocative decision."
"It was important to raise this issue with the Secretary General and ask him to consider some measure of personal responsiblity, disciplinary measures against those people that were running UNMIK at that point," Churkin said.
He expressed regret that an internal UN report on the incident was not released to council members.
But Britain's deputy ambassador Karen Pierce maintained that "UNMIK acted with professionalism" during the incident.
"This was a premeditated attack on the international personnel in Kosovo," she said. "The notion this was a peaceful demonstration to which UNMIK reacted heavy handedly I think is not correct."
Relations between Moscow and Britain have cooled considerably since the murder of Russian spy-turned-Kremlin-critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006.
Russia has refused to extradite lawmaker and ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi to face charges in Britain in connection with the slaying.
The rioting in Kosovska Mitrovica last March erupted after the UN police tried to dislodge a group of Serb protesters who had been holed up for three days inside two UN-run courts, which they wanted to be placed back under Serbian control.
After the police detained around 50 of the Serbs, hundreds of residents from the Serb-populated northern part of the town attacked the security force's convoy and freed some of the prisoners.
A Ukrainian police lieutenant was killed and more than 150 people -- among them 64 international security officials -- were injured in the incident.
Kosovo's independence has been recognised by many Western countries but Serbia and Kosovo Serbs -- backed by Russia -- have vehemently rejected the move as illegal.
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