DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
January 25, 2008 Friday

THE PACE EDITS ITS KOSOVO RESOLUTION;
Voting in favor of continuing negotiations

by Mikhail Zygar, Strasbourg

EUROPEAN POLITICIANS DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF KOSOVO; The current
session of the PACE turned controversial yesterday. During the debate
on the status of Kosovo, PACE delegates split into two camps: one
side arguing that Serbia should remain undivided and thanking
President Putin,
Enhanced Coverage LinkingPresident Putin, -Search using:
Biographies Plus News
the other side arguing that Russia’s stance is counter-productive.

The current session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) turned controversial yesterday. During the debate on
the status of Kosovo, PACE delegates split into two camps: one side
arguing that Serbia should remain undivided and thanking President
Vladimir Putin,
Enhanced Coverage LinkingVladimir Putin, -Search using:
Biographies Plus News
the other side arguing that Russia’s stance is counter-productive and
Kosovo’s independence is inevitable. Eventually, the PACE resolution
drafted by Lord Russell-Johnston was altered to say the opposite; in
effect, the PACE voted against independence for Kosovo.

In his introductory speech, Lord Russell-Johnston said that Russia is
being illogical in opposing independence for Kosovo: on the one hand,
it supports separatist regimes in Pridnestrovie (Trans-Dniester),
South Ossetia, and Abkhazia – but on the other hand, it refuses to do
the same for Kosovo. In his opinion, Kosovo’s independence wouldn’t
lead to any upheavals or set any precedents; in protesting against
it, Russia is behaving like a bear that tries to crush a mouse solely
as a demonstration of strength.

Although Lord Russell-Johnston had assured us that the final version
of his resolution was quite moderate, it caused a storm of outrage in
the PACE. Over 50 delegates queued up to express their opinions on
the issue of Kosovo.

The Russian delegation is headed by Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of
the Duma’s foreign relations committee. He was outraged by this
comparison of Russia to a bear: "I find it strange to hear such
judgements from a representative of Britain, which recently counseled
Russia to amend its Constitution and which appears to believe that
British laws should apply on Russian territory – I’m referring to the
recent conflict over the British Council." According to Kosachev,
it’s inaccurate to say that negotiations have exhausted their
potential – such statements only encourage the Kosovar Albanians to
believe that they don’t need to negotiate with the Serbs, since
Europe will recognize Kosovo’s independence anyway. Kosachev’s
conclusion: the only way Europe can help Kosovo and Serbia is by
admitting all of Serbia into the European Union – then Kosovo would
have no reason to secede.

The idea expressed by Kosachev may be described as a sensation. Until
now, Russia’s ally in Serbia had been the Radical Party, which
opposes joining the EU. But now Kosachev has effectively acknowledged
that the most constructive force in Serbia is the Democratic Party
led by President Tadic – since integration into the EU, rather than
isolation, could help to resolve the Kosovo conflict.

But no one at the PACE picked up on Kosachev’s idea. Half the
delegates opposed Lord Russell-Johnston’s report.

The delegation from Azerbaijan was among those who spoke out against
the resolution, arguing that Kosovo is sure to set a dangerous
precedent and obstruct efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
crisis.

Ivica Dacic, leader of the Serbian Socialists (Slobodan Milosevic’s
former party), asked why the European Union is prepared to impose
independence on Kosovo, but refuses to recognize the independence of
Corsica, Quebec, Catalonia, the Basques, Northern Ireland, Kurdistan,
Palestine, and Northern Cyprus.

"We thank Russia, the State Duma, and Putin!" said Natasha Iovanovic,
deputy speaker of the Serbian parliament.

Source: Kommersant, January 23, 2008, p. 9

Translated by Elena Leonova