What the Papers Say (Russia)
February 22, 2008 Friday
KOSOVO’S SOVEREIGNTY ESTABLISHES NEW WORLD ORDER
by Ruslan Gorevoi
KOVOSO: TIME TO START THINKING OF WAYS AND MEANS TO AVOID WORLD WAR
THREE; Kosovo precedent may rearrange European borders and actually
launch World War Three.
Emergency meeting of the UN Security Council formulated its attitude
to self-proclaimed sovereignty of Kosovo. Five members of the UN
Security Council out of fifteen backed independence and sovereignty
of the Serbian province on the basis of the so called Ahtisaari’s
Plan. Russian Ambassador Vasily Churkin questioned the right of the
United States and European Union to encourage Kosovo to proclaim
sovereignty but his pleas were ignored.
In theory, five members of the UN Security Council are prepared to
acknowledge Kosovo as a sovereign state. Special emphasis is made on
the fact that the Kosovo case is unique and therefore sets no
precedents for others like North Cyprus, Trans-Dniester region,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Nagorno-Karabakh. Some political
scientists suspect that encouragement of Kosovo by the Western
community might end in another war in the Balkans.
Supporters of sovereignty apparently refused to believe until the
last moment that pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic would go
to the end. Tadic, supported and prodded by Moscow, did disappoint
them. Official Belgrade waived independence of the territory even
before it was declared. Tadic and his Premier Vojislav Kostunica said
in no uncertain terms that sovereignty of Kosovo would never be
recognized.
Emergency meeting of the parliament echoed their firm "no" to
separatism. The war seems inevitable, it is just a matter of time
now. How soon meanwhile shall we expect an analogous revision of
European borders elsewhere? Forget the Commonwealth where Moldova’s
chances to retain the Trans-Dniester region are as slim as Georgia’s
to keep Abkhazia and South Ossetia. (At least because of these
countries’ insolvency.) The Kosovo precedent may backfire in Great
Britain where separatist Scotland has been biding its time, not to
mention Ulster that is probably ready to share its fighting
experience and weapons with the Scots.
Forget Basques in Spain and the Cyprus divided between Greece and
Turkey! There is also Kurdistan that actually exists even though the
international community refuses to acknowledge the fact. Kurdistan is
located on the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Ankara
has been doing what it can to postpone declaration of Larger
Kurdistan nearby, but now… The Kurds have already stated in no
uncertain terms that they take recognition of Kosovo sovereignty as a
signal.
Shortly speaking, the international community had better start
thinking about ways and means of to avoid WWIII.
Source: Versiya, No 6, February, 2008, p. 4