KOSOVO PRECEDENT WATCH, PART II
by Nikolas K. Gvosdev
The National Interest Online, DC
June 28 2007
A summit was held earlier this month in Tiraspol, capital of the
unrecognized, breakaway region of Transdnistria. This meeting brought
together representatives from a number of the various statelets that
emerged after the break-up of the Soviet Union in Moldova, Georgia
and Azerbaijan-each claiming the right to leave their titular republic
when those states left the USSR.
On the agenda? What implications the recognition of Kosovo would have
for their own aspirations.
An advisor to the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was
quoted as saying:
"The recognition of the independence of Kosovo as a legal precedent
will, of course, be working. In this sense it may prove a certain
acceleration in the recognition of our states."
No one from this group seems to be accepting the notion that Kosovo
is a unique case.
The foreign minister for South Ossetia, Murat Jioev, said, "[I]f
Kosovo is recognized by the international community, it will
automatically become a precedent for those states that are also
seeking their recognition. It must be reckoned with." The foreign
minister for Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, stressed, "[T]here must be a
general principle, as everyone is seeking independence."
What should be especially worrying for Washington is that
Nagorno-Karabakh, which in 2004 withdrew from what is often referred
to as the "Commonwealth of Unrecognized States", in part as a gesture
to the United States to show its willingness to pursue a settlement
with Azerbaijan, has rejoined this body in advance of an expected
push for Kosovo independence.
Sometimes double standards are a necessary part of statecraft
and diplomacy. Not all precedents have to be applied equally. But
Washington’s public diplomacy in the region is going to need some
stronger and more convincing talking points on this matter.
Nikolas K. Gvosdev is editor of The National Interest.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
