EUobserver.com, Belgium
Feb 18 2008
Kosovo independence emboldens South Caucasus breakaway republics
18.02.2008 – 17:42 CET | By Leigh Phillips
Georgia’s breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are to
ask Russia and the United Nations to recognise their own independence
in the wake of Sunday’s unilateral declaration of independence by
Kosovo.
"In the near future, Abkhazia will appeal to the Russian parliament
and the UN security council with a request to recognise its
independence," said Abkhaz president Sergei Bagapsh on Monday (18
February), according to Russian newswire Interfax.
"If anyone thinks that Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdniestria
will stop after the recognition of Kosovo, they are making a big
mistake," he said.
Using almost identical language, South Ossetian president Eduard
Kokoity issued a similar pronouncement.
"South Ossetia will in the near future appeal to the Commonwealth of
Independent States and the UN with a request to recognise our
independence," he said.
But the European Commission has said that Kosovo is a "unique case"
and cannot be taken as a precedent for the South Caucasus.
"Kosovo is not a blueprint that can be applied to any other area,”
said external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner replying
to a question on the breakaway Georgian regions during a press
conference in Brussels where EU ministers on Monday were discussing
Kosovo’s self-proclaimed independence.
EU Council secretary-general Javier Solana said the Kosovo case was
sui generis, distinct from other regions.
"I don’t know if anywhere has been like Kosovo, which since 1999 has
been ruled by the United Nations," he said.
"When we talk about [Kosovo being] a sui generis situation, this is
so evident that those who don’t see it, don’t see it because they
don’t want to look at it."
For his part, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili warned against
stirring up tensions in the region.
"I do not advise anyone to even put a nose into this issue and to
escalate tensions. We want to resolve all the issues peacefully – we
do not need any unrests now – but Georgia will not step back," he
stated.
Last week Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met the leaders of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia to discuss their own conflicts and how
they relate to Kosovo’s declaration.
A Kremlin source, quoted by Russian daily, Kommersant, said that
there is to be a change in the relationship between Russia and
Abkhazia and South Ossetia with Russia intending to open
"representations" in the two regions.
While Russia has delivered military support to the breakaway
republics, it has up to now stopped short of recognition of the
Republic of South Ossetia or the Republic of Abkhazia.
"Chancers"
Andrew Stroehlein, of the International Crisis Group, told the
EUobserver: "Many others who might try to claim independence seem
like chancers. They can try their luck, but they’re not going to get
the international recognition that Kosovo will."
"There have been human rights abuses, but none of the break-away
states in the region have faced the massive ethnic cleansing that
Belgrade perpetrated on Kosovo.
"None of these regions has been the subject of a UN resolution like
Resolution 1244, which in 1999 explicitly called for the final legal
status of Kosovo to be determined in future.
Mr Stroehlein also warned against thinking Russia is strongly
supportive of Kosovo setting an international precedent in all
circumstances, as it too has its own separatist regions.
"Russia’s in a precarious situation itself," he said. "Perhaps it
wants Kosovo to be a precedent for the Russia-friendly breakaway
republics in the South Caucasus, but it certainly doesn’t want it to
be a precedent for Chechnya."
The leaders of Ngorno-Karabakh have also expressed their hope that
Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence would set a precedent
for their own unrecognised South Caucasian republic, officially part
of Azerbaijan.
Nevertheless, Russia did not mention Ngorno-Karabakh when it last
week listed the unrecognised republics within the former Soviet
Union’s sphere of influence whose status would be affected by the
Kosovar announcement, referring only to South Ossetia, Abkhazia and
the Transdniester region in Moldova.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
