ECHR: Russia should compensate Balkan troops

Russia will pay 260,000 euros to 12 Russian soldiers, who carried out a peacekeeping mission in former Yugoslavia between 1999 and 2011, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the court said in a statement. Twelve Russian servicemen, who were among 200 troops deployed to Kosovo in 1999, demanded daily allowance payments for serving in the Balkan region. They already filed claims in Russia, where the courts ruled in their favour, however, they have not yet received payment. The Strasbourg Court ruled in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and urged Russia to pay $260,000 between the 12 soldiers, the court said. Russia withdrew its peacekeeping forces from Kosovo in 2003, as the Defence Ministry said Russia’s peacekeeping mission in the Balkans had been completed.