http://www.regnum.ru/english/693406.html
Regnum (Russia)
August 24, 2006
Grigory Karasin: It is naive to say that the Kosovo
precedent is unique
"Territorial integrity does not rule out the
possibility of a multi-scenario resolution of the
status problem and does not imply that the will of a
nation can be ignored," Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Grigory Karasin says in an interview to
Izvestia daily, when asked if the Kosovo precedent can
be applied to Transdnestr, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Karasin says that in the Kosovo case, unlike the
collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia and the division
of Czechoslovakia, [is a case of] claiming
independence by an autonomy within a republic of a
federation rather than a republic of federation
[federated republic].
"Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestr have a
similar status. So, if the Western partners force
Serbia to acknowledge the sovereignty of this region,
they will create an obvious international legal
precedent, which cannot but be projected to other
frozen conflicts — and not only in the post-Soviet
area but also in other regions.
"Some people in the West are trying to convince us
that Kosovo is a unique case – a result of some unique
historical circumstances. It is naive to say that the
Kosovo case is unique, we can't agree with this.
"Precedents come from reality and one can't abolish
them just by persistently denying them. Can anybody
say to people in other autonomies that in this case we
give independence, but for you this can in no way be
an example?" wonders Karasin.
"Those speaking about the 'uniqueness' of the Kosovo
case either forget or deliberately neglect that, in
fact, the question is about inconsistency in
approaching different conflicts, in other words, about
'double standards.'
"Such an approach undermines confidence in the
international community and leads to chaos and
selectivity in international relations. Of course, for
Russia this is unacceptable. That's why our position
is that, even though each specific conflict is
peculiar, there should be some universal settlement
rules based on the generally accepted norms of the
international law," says Karasin.
