Attempts to allow Kosovo's membership in UNESCO leads to the politicization of the activities of the organization, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after a meeting with the General Director of UNESCO Irina Bokova. "With all the complexity of international life, it is important to avoid politicization of UNESCO activities. That’s how we see now the situation related to the attempt to allow Kosovo's membership in the organization, violating in such a way the UN Resolution 1244," said Lavrov, as reported by TASS.

Lavrov stressed the need "to provide support in every way possible, in the spirit of compromise and decision-making by consensus." According to him, the Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova "has such talent and actively promotes constructive solutions."

UN SC Resolution 1244 was adopted on 10 June 1999 and envisages a series of measures to solve the situation in Kosovo by providing "substantial autonomy and self-government" to that region, at the same time respecting the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia," stated the Russian news agency.