Putin Says Kosovo Independence is Illegal
"President Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Europe and the United States of double standards over their support for an independent Kosovo, and warned that any declaration of statehood by Pristina would be 'illegal, ill-conceived and immoral,'" reports The Guardian. "Putin said that Russia remained utterly opposed to Kosovo breaking away from Serbia. If Kosovo's Albanian leaders ignored Russian objections and announced independence this Sunday Moscow would be forced to act, he said."
In "Europe's Approaching Train Wreck," Cato research fellow in foreign policy studies Stanley Kober writes:
"The dilemma confronting policymakers is acute. Kosovar aspirations cannot be denied much longer, but the effort to satisfy them absent an agreement with Serbia is bound to alienate the Serbs and, by extension, the Russians. And if we craft solutions that bypass existing law, we should recognize that we are creating opportunities for mischief down the road. Indeed, if we attempt to buy peace at the expense of law, we might find out we end up with neither. If the Russians (and possibly the Chinese) oppose revision of Resolution 1244 to grant Kosovo effective independence, and if the United States and its allies ignore these concerns and endorse the [UN special envoy, Martti] Ahtisaari plan [which permits Kosovo to conclude international agreements and become a member of international organizations], the reverberations will be felt well beyond the Balkans."
In BBC's HardTalk with Stephen Sakur, Cato senior fellow and former adviser to Vladimir Putin Andrei Illarionov said:
"'Putinism' would be characterized as some level of nationalism, some level of aggressiveness, first of all directed against people inside the country, and to some extent, outside the country as well."
When asked if Putinism might end with Putin's departure from the Kremlin, Illarionov responded: "I don't think so, because we are talking about the policy and philosophy of aggression against Russian people, against Russia's neighbors, against other countries in the world. It does not and should not be attributed to one particular person. This is the philosophy and ideology of a group of people, of the Corporation, of the organizations that exist in the country for a long period of time, almost for a century."
BBC NEWS | Europe | Fresh talks over Kosovo's status
West divided on resolving Kosovo | csmonitor.com
"Kosovo's Independence is the Central Thing" | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 22.02.2007
I am following this development rather intrigued. Eastern European Politics has always interested me since Putin rolled back Liberty in Russia and in essence reverted Russia's foreign policy to that of USSR lite. I can see Kosovo being the torch that lights the fire on world war 3.