Russian senators point to "dangers of Kosovo precedent"
Will the UN have enough courage and wisdom to correct its mistakes with regard to Kosovo? This question was raised by the Russian Federation Council international committee chairman Mikhail Margelov on the eve of the Friday meeting of the UN Security Council on Kosovo.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, July 25, 2008
On 24 July, Margelov, who is heading a delegation of Russian senators, was received by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon.
"I sincerely believe that the actions which in fact condoned the amputation of Kosovo from Serbia were a mistake," Margelov said after a meeting with the secretary-general at the UN HQs.
The senator stressed that Russia "wants only one thing - respect for international law".
"However, it seems that the number of countries which respect international law with regard to the Kosovo problem is quite small," he said.
"Sometimes I think that only Russia and Serbia need international law to be applied to the Kosovo problem," Margelov said.
"With the arrest of Karadzic, the Serbs are showing not only respect for international law but commitment to pledges they gave to the UN, European Union, NATO and all other interested parties in the Balkans." However, it is impossible to observe international law on one's own, Margelov said, because it "transforms from international law into some strange kind of private law".
Margelov believes that "the danger of this international precedent will surface first of all not in Europe but in Asian and African countries". "In the world, there are about 200 places populated by compact ethnic communities, which under certain conditions could claim independence, along the Kosovo lines," Margelov said.
"Is the international community, including the UN, ready for a global redesigning of the political map of the world?" the senator said. "I am not sure. If our colleagues in the UN remember this as often as possible, wisdom will come back."
