http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11975850
Feb 23 2008 11:53AM Kosovo's recognition could re-ignite separatism, terrorism in Europe - Russian diplomat (Part 2) [-- == updated -- n.] MOSCOW. Feb 23 (Interfax) - The recognition of Kosovo's self- proclaimed independence has the potential of setting in motion dangerous trends in Europe, such as an upsurge in separatism and terrorism, a high-ranking Russian diplomat said. "In the case of Kosovo, a trigger has been cocked, and nobody knows what kind of shot is going to be fired and when," Russian presidential envoy for international cooperation in combating international terrorism and transnational organized crime Anatoly Safonov told Interfax on Saturday. "In the situation of Kosovo, there is a danger of unleashing a powerful destruction machine, whose consequences cannot always be anticipated. It is too bad that the lessons of the past have been forgotten, including the lesson of the 1938 Munich Agreement [an agreement between British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, under which part of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, was annexed by Germany]," Safonov said. The developments surrounding Kosovo will inevitably cause an upsurge of separatist and terrorist manifestations in Europe, he said. "Many countries believe that separatism and terrorism are links of the same chain. It is clear that terrorist trends will increase. Trampling upon international law is bound to lead to such results," Safonov said. "You also should not forget that, since the times of the active phase of the Balkan campaign, Jihadists of Terror have settled in Kosovo and a number of other places and led a semi-legal existence. But at the same time, they have not lost connection with al-Qaeda and other terrorist structures. The recognition of Kosovo sends a message to these forces that they can come out of the underground. Let's see if our partners can be principled enough toward that underground," Safonov said. va md
