KOSOVO IS REMARKABLE WITH THAT IT WAS THE FIRST AUTONOMY TO BE SEPARATED FROM A REPUBLIC

Yerevan, ArmInfo. Former Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir
Kazimirov called groundless statements by Western diplomats that the
issue of Kosovo is unique and cannot be taken for example in settling
conflicts on the post-Soviet area.

Kazimirov said that in order to prevent escalation of conflicts
it is necessary to take into account the unique circumstances of
each conflict, formed through long years. He admitted that people’s
right for self- determination should be preferred to the principle of
territorial integrity in case the will of the people is obvious and
especially in case blood is spilt to prove that will. In this sense
Kosovo is remarkable only with that it was the first autonomy to be
separated from a republic (unlike numerous republics that separated
from federations).

Natural demographical shifts cannot be avoided but they are
unacceptable if caused by administrative persuasion or military force,
said the former Co-Chair of the Minsk Group. ‘One cannot neglect
that Kosovars became majority in Kosovo, and it is obvious that they
cannot be deported so that the Serbs become majority again, as it
was centuries ago. The same situation is in Nakhijevan and Karabakh
in case of Armenians and Azeris,’ noted Kazimirov.