Kosovo versus South Ossetia/Abkhazia

On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an order recognizing the independence of two Georgian breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a day after it was overwhelmingly approved by both houses of Russia's parliament.

He called on other countries to follow Russia's lead. He blamed Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for forcing his hand by launching a military assault on South Ossetia rebels, triggering a major invasion by Russia's military.

US President Bush:
"Georgia's territorial integrity and borders must command the same respect as every other nation's, including Russia's."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:
Called the decision "regrettable."

Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, OSCE Chair:
"The recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates fundamental OSCE principles."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel:
"This contradicts the basic principles of territorial integrity and is therefore absolutely unacceptable."

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt:
"Russia’s decision to recognize the rebel Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states was a "deliberate violation of international law. Medvedev now dramatically escalated the crisis between Russia and the rest of the world. The decision is also a deliberate violation of international law and basic principles for stability in Europe."

South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia during civil wars in the 1990s. So both provinces declared themselves independent nearly two decades ago. It wasn't till now that Georgia decided to try to retake South Ossetia. Of course when things started going badly there, rebels in Abkhazia took action and started taking over towns near their region.

Out of all of this, how does this compare with Kosovo?

Kosovo's parliament proclaimed independence in defiance of Serbia and Russia. Serbia called the declaration illegal and its ally Russia denounced it, saying it threatened to touch off a new conflict in the Balkans.

Kosovo had formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian — most of them secular Muslims — and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia.

Forty-six countries went ahead and recognized the Republic of Kosovo. The United States announced its recongition of Kosovo on February 18, 2008. The US called Kosovo a "special-case." It said that independence from Serbia for the majority Albanian province was the only "viable option" to keep the region stable.

As for UN membership, both China and Russian Federation have stated that they will oppose Kosovo's application. They also stated that Kosovo's actions do violate international law.

They refer to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999, which reaffirmed “the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.” The plan was to give Kosovo “substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration.” Recognizing Kosovo’s independence prior to new authorization by the Security Council would clearly violate international law.

Naturally, a new UN Security Council resolution for Kosovo independence will not pass because of Chinese and Russian opposition. So the United States, some EU countries, and others have chosen to bypass the UNSC on this issue.

******************************

The US and the West accused Russia of violating the territorial integrity of Georgia.

The Russian Federation accused the US and West for violating the territorial integrity of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Who is truly right? Kosovo does not want to be a part of Serbia. But South Ossetia and Abkhazia do not want to be a part of Georgia.

To be honest, it is really all Mikheil Saakashvili's fault. He chose the military option; to re-take South Ossetia by force. Now the chances of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia returning to full Georgian control is pretty much impossible.