Monday, August 18, 2008

Why there is no equivalence between Kosovo and S. Ossetia

The concluding paragraph of a commentary published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty puts the matter succinctly enough:

In Kosovo, the international community was left with no option but to intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians by the Serbian regime. Kosovo was recognized as an independent state given its status within the Yugoslav Federation and fulfillment of international criteria for recognition. By contrast, Russian involvement in South Ossetia over the course of the last decade, and in particular its intervention during this past week, has resulted in mass ethnic cleansing and a blatant violation of Georgia's territorial integrity.

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