Independent Kosovo could become "radical Islamic state" - former Russian premier
BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union (Political) - June 25, 2007 Monday

Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti

Tokyo, 25 June: If the Serbian province of Kosovo is given independence, a radical Islamic state could arise on its territory that would be powerful enough to influence the policies of European countries, Yevgeniy Primakov, president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has said.

"If Kosovo is now given independence, a very powerful Islamic state will be created there. Other territories that surround Kosovo could also join it, and this would be a powerful centre through which influence could be exerted on European states," Primakov said on Monday [25 June] at the forum "Investment opportunities in Russia: Stock market, industry and real estate" in Tokyo.

Primakov, who is a former foreign and prime minister, believes that granting Kosovo independence could be a very dangerous precedent.

"If Kosovo is given independence, this will be the first time an autonomous area has left a unitary state without the consent of the remaining part of the unitary state. Only parts of federations have left states before," he said.

Primakov said that this could later lead to chaos if ethnic minorities in other states began to follow the example of Kosovo and stand up for their independence.

"Now one should think not so much about granting independence as how to make these autonomous regions as independent as possible within existing states," Primakov said.

Source: RIA Novosti, Moscow, in Russian 0451 gmt 25 Jun 07

Copyright 2007 British Broadcasting Corporation
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