Kosovo independence to become precedent in other conflicts: Russian diplomat

Kosovo independence to become precedent in other conflicts: Russian diplomat
Agence France Presse -- English - August 23, 2006 Wednesday 11:45 PM GMT

MOSCOW, Aug 24 2006 - Granting independence to Kosovo would create a precedent for other regions seeking secession, such as Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia or Moldova's Transdniestr, Russia's deputy foreign minister warned in an interview.

"In case this region is made independent from Serbia by force, which is what Western partners are aiming for, it would create an obvious international legal precedent, which cannot help but be applied to other frozen conflicts," Grigory Karasin told the Izvestia daily Wednesday.

"In Kosovo's case, unlike those of the Yugoslavian or Soviet fall, it is not a republic within a federation that claims independence, but an autonomous region. Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdniestr have the same status," the diplomat explained.

"When claiming that this case is unique, they either forget or intentionally pay no attention to the fact that this is an inconsistent approach to conflicts in various parts of the world, in other words, double standards," Karasin said.

"This approach's vice is that it undermines trust for the international community and brings about chaos and selectivity in international relations, which is unacceptable for Russia," he added.

Russia has long sided with Serbia in challenging moves to proclaim Kosovo independence.

However, officials from Abkhazia urged Moscow last month to back Kosovo's independence to achieve an important precedent for pro-Russian separatist territories in Georgia and Moldova.