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MOSCOW, August 1 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry Sunday condemned as "absolutely unacceptable" the conduct of Kosovo Liberation Army chiefs and remarks of Hashim Taqi, the KLA political leader.
The ministry said Taqi's remarks in connection with the detention of the KLA chief of staff, Agim Ceku, was a "gross provocation," the Interfax news agency reported.
Russian peacekeepers stopped a group of people wearing KLA uniform in the town of Kijevo Saturday and Ceku was among the group, the ministry's statement said.
The detained people were released upon being identified, the statement said.
Taqi said it was "a premeditated act with a political aim" and made threats against Russian peacekeepers.
"Russian peacekeepers' actions fully comply with the agreed upon rules for the presence of peacekeeping contingents in Kosovo," the statement said.
"The KLA claims of being in charge of the situation in Kosovo contradict resolution 1244 of the U.N. Security Council, the Kosovo settlement principles, which were adopted by G-8, and other documents determining the status and objectives of the international peacekeepers in Kosovo," the statement said.
"Tolerance to the KLA illegal use of force against local Serbs prompted its leaders to make public threats against international peacekeepers," the statement said, calling for "urgent and efficient steps" to make the KLA "unequivocally comply with all requirements of the Kosovo peace process and to avert events that could jeopardize the peacekeeping operation."
It said Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has sent messages to the United Nations, the leadership of the peacekeeping operation and his G-7 counterparts.