Russia sends humanitarian aid to Kosovo Serbs

MOSCOW. December 7. KAZINFORM Russia is sending on Wednesday a second shipment of humanitarian aid to Kosovo Serbs, totaling 284 tons, the emergencies ministry said; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

A 40-truck convoy will deliver blankets, power generators, furniture and food supplies, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The convoy left the city of Noginsk near Moscow at 5.45 a.m. Moscow time (01:45 GMT) and is expected to arrive in the city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo in two days.

In November, an emergencies ministry's Il-76 cargo plane delivered the first shipment of humanitarian aid, weighing 36 tons, to the city of Nis in southern Serbia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on December 1 that Moscow would not be able to approve thousands of Kosovo Serbs' applications for Russian citizenship, but will continue to provide the Serb minority in Kosovo with humanitarian aid.

A Russian-Serbian center for emergency situations in the Balkans opened in Nis in October.

Kosovo, a landlocked region with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008. Ethnic Serbs account for up to 10 percent of Kosovo's two-million population.

Both Serbia and Russia have refused to recognize Kosovo's independence; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.

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