KOSOVO PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE APPLIED TO ABKHAZIA, S OSSETIA-PUTIN

ITAR-TASS, Russia
13.09.2006, 16.07

MOSCOW, September 13 (Itar-Tass) – Russian President Vladimir Putin
is certain that in the Abkhazian and South Ossetian settlement the
same rules that are applied to Kosovo should be used. The president
believes the disruption of the Russian initiative in the Dniester
region is a mistake of European diplomacy.

"It is inadmissible to apply one rules for Kosovo and other –
for Abkhazia and South Ossetia," said Putin answering questions
of participants in a meeting of the international discussion club
Valdai. A verbatim report of the meeting that was held on September 9
is published on the official Kremlin website. The Valdai discussion
club brings together leading political analysts, Russian affairs
experts and the heads of leading foreign policy and research think
tanks.

The President’s meetings with the club’s participants have already
become a tradition. This was the third such meeting. During the
three-hour discussion, Putin expressed his views on a number of key
foreign and domestic policy issues and answered numerous questions
put to him by the club’s participants, it is said on the website.

"(Regarding Kosovo) there is resolution 1244 (of the UN Security
Council) and nobody has cancelled it," Putin said. "It is inadmissible
to manipulate public opinion and neglect decisions adopted by the UN
Security Council."

The president stressed that international actions "in this sphere
should be coordinated and should be taken based on considering the
interests of all participants in this process."

"We should once again think what will happen next if Kosovo
independence is recognized and legally formalized," Putin said. "An
what will happen next in this region of the world? We had been told
that everything would be all right in Iraq. And now only Kurdish
flags are hoisted in Iraq’s Kurdistan, there are now no Iraqi flags
there. What will happen next in this region, in Europe? Has anybody
thought about it, no? But it is necessary to think," the president
emphasized.

Putin stressed that international actions "should be universal." "What
is the difference between the Kosovo situation and Abkhazian or South
Ossetian? There is no difference whatsoever," he noted. "So as soon
as we begin to manipulate public opinion or make attempts to do this
we will encounter problems. People will feel deceived. Both in South
Europe and the Trans-Caucasian region. Such policy cannot be recognized
moral. It has no prospects," Putin pointed out.

The president confirmed that Russia is ready to work with the European
Union in settling "any complicated, severe or conflict situation
wherever they emerge."

"This certainly can also be said about the post-Soviet space. It is
Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it is the Dniester region,"
Putin added.

In the words of the Russian head of state, "it is not always possible
to coordinate actions and this causes damage to security issues
in Europe." He said, "Thus, for instance, has happened during the
Dniester region settlement when we were just one step away from this
settlement and fears of our Western, American and European partners
disrupted this settlement, disrupted these agreements and brought
everything back to zero point." The president stressed, "I believe
that it is a major mistake of European diplomacy."