http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20071219/93225837.html
Rossiiskaya Gazeta December 19, 2007 Kosovo is an unwanted precedent for Russia With several self-proclaimed states on the territory of the former Soviet Union eager to make use of the Kosovo precedent for their own benefit, Russia does not want to be faced with a dilemma of whether or not to recognize their independence yet. Sergei Karaganov, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Europe, believes that both options are undesirable for Russia at the moment. The United States and some European nations probably want to turn the Kosovo page at any rate, because they need to prove that the de-facto isolation of Kosovo by NATO bombs was the right thing to do, the expert said. They are also eager to take the political logic and pattern of the 1990s, in which the U.S. and NATO, believed to have won the Cold War, could dictate their terms, into the next century. However, the expert said, the arrogance of force shown lately by the U.S. has resulted in the Iraq fiasco and all but led to WWIII, which would inevitably have followed any attack on Iran. Seeing that Russia's spirit was not to be broken, the European Union, which was slowly pulling itself out of a crisis through the Lisbon agreement, decided that preserving the fragile unity was more important than recognizing a criminal republic. European capitals are also aware that the latter will be fraught with additional intractable problems, as they will have to restore Kosovo and make efforts to prevent the emergence of a great and powerful Albania. Russia is in no hurry, and has no reason to cede its positions, which are almost perfect from the political and moral standpoints, Karaganov said. So is there a solution? There certainly is, and incidentally more than one. The first option for the West is to try and persuade Serbia to change its position by offering it a package of economic and political privileges which would suit the majority of the Serbs and would come across as an apology and reparation for the damage done by the war unleashed by NATO. Another option, according to Karaganov, is to offer a package of privileges along with the annexation of parts of Kosovo where Serbian population prevails to Serbia, possibly along with some other territories. If Serbia agrees to one of the options and recognizes Kosovo's independence, international law will be observed, and Russia and China will have to lift their vetos in the UN Security Council, satisfied by at least a moral victory. But Russia has in any case won a small foreign political victory by proving it is strong enough to fight unilateral and unlawful decisions, Karaganov concluded. =============== Group Moderator: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
