Reuters
Feb 17 2008
Ex-Soviet separatist regions take heart from Kosovo
Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:27pm EST
By Christian Lowe and Dmitry Solovyov
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Breakaway states in the former Soviet Union said
on Sunday Kosovo’s independence would give new impetus to their
decades-long campaign for international recognition.
Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
Azerbaijan’s rebel Nagorno-Karabakh region and Transdniestria, which
split from Moldova, all declared independence in the 1990s but have
not received international recognition.
Western backers of Kosovo’s independence say it does not create a
precedent that can be applied elsewhere, but the ex-Soviet rebel
regions say that is a double standard which will be harder to defend
now Kosovo has declared independence.
"South Ossetia will appeal to the countries of the (ex-Soviet)
Commonwealth of Independent States and the United Nations with a
request to recognize our independence," said South Ossetia’s
separatist leader Eduard Kokoity.
"We have a stronger case under international law for recognition than
Kosovo," Kokoity’s spokeswoman quoted him as saying.
"For us, Kosovo is an opportunity to once again bring attention to
the problem of political entities like South Ossetia.
"For 18 years South Ossetia has been building its statehood and has
all the attributes of a state, unlike Kosovo. Nevertheless, Kosovo is
being recognized but the problem of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
remains unclear."
Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh said that following Kosovo’s move
on Sunday his separatist region on Georgia’s Black Sea coast would be
making a new appeal for recognition to the U.N. and Russia, its
biggest backer.
"The situation with Kosovo is a precedent," Russia’s Interfax news
agency quoted Bagapsh as saying. "All the talk about the Kosovo
situation being unique is an example of a policy of double
standards."
RESTORE CONTROL
Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign minister said Kosovo demonstrated a
breakaway region could win international recognition even if the
state it broke away from opposes the move.
Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh threw off
Azerbaijan’s rule in a 1990s war that killed about 35,000 people.
Azerbaijan has vowed to restore its control.
"The recognition of Kosovo’s independence will become yet another
factor solidifying Nagorno-Karabakh’s position in its talks on
settling the conflict with Azerbaijan," the separatist region’s
foreign minister Georgy Petrosyan told Reuters.
In Moldova’s Transdniestria region, the separatist parliament was
expected to issue a statement on Monday responding to Kosovo’s
declaration of independence.
Former colonial power Russia is likely to play a crucial role in the
breakaway regions’ renewed bids for recognition.
It backs the separatists in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Transdniestria and some analysts have predicted it could grant them
recognition in the wake of Kosovo independence.
Russia’s foreign ministry said last week international recognition
for Kosovo would influence its policy towards the breakaway regions
in its own backyard.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia despite objections from
Belgrade and Russia, Serbia’s big-power ally. The United States and
most European Union states are expected to recognize Kosovo
independence soon.
(Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian in Yerevan and Dmitry Chubashenko in
Chisinau; writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Robert Woodward)