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After UN court ruling, fears of global separatism
AP
Friday, July 23, 2010
Andrej Cukic A man passes by television screens showing a live
broadcast from the International Court of Justice in the Hague,
Netherlands, the United Nations' highest court, at a house appliances
store in the Serb dominated town of Kosovska-Mitrovica, some 50
kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Pristina, Kosovo, Thursday, July
22, 2010. Kosovo won a major victory on the world stage Thursday as
the United Nations' highest court said its 2008 declaration of
independence from Serbia was legal. (AP Photo/Andrej Cukic)
Serbia and Kosovo are dispatching competing armies of lobbyists to
governments that so far have wavered on recognizing the breakaway
province.
Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood and
religion, fears Thursday's ruling by the top U.N. court backing the
legality of the 2008 declaration of independence could lead to a wave
of new recognitions.
Its best hope for preventing Kosovo admission to the United Nations
may be vetoes by China and Russia which both have their own restive
regions _ a reflection of concerns in some countries that separatists
will be emboldened by the development.
The U.S. and many in the West insist Kosovo's statehood is a special
case because it is the result of a brutal Serbian ethnic cleansing
campaign against Albanian separatists that led to an international
administration in 1999, when NATO ejected Serb forces after a brief
aerial war.
"We call on those states, who have not yet done so, to recognize
Kosovo," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley on said on
Thursday. "Now is the time for them, for Kosovo and Serbia, to put
aside their differences and move forward."
Some experts say there's no practical way to prevent other
independence-minded regions from drawing inspiration from the Kosovo
ruling.
"The West wants to say that this case has no precedential importance,
but that's kind of a contortionist logic," said Dana Allin at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think
tank. "You can say that, but whether you can enforce it is hard to
say."
In its nonbinding decision announced Thursday, the top U.N. court said
it did not rule on the legality of Kosovo's statehood, but only on its
declaration of independence.
Regions around the world where separatists may be energized by
Kosovo's secession include Spain's Basque country and Catalonia,
Scotland, Italy's ethnic German-populated Alto Adige, and parts of
Romania and Slovakia populated by restive Hungarian minorities.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have declared independence from
Georgia, will also be encouraged by the ruling that states that such
unilateral declarations of independence are not illegal under
international law. Nearby, Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's
Nagorno-Karabah region may seek to legitimize their secession dating
back to the early 1990s.
In the Middle East, Kurdish politicians in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region have also said they will carefully study the ICJ decision.
Although the U.S. has insisted on keeping Iraq's territorial integrity
since the 2003 invasion, the Kurds have repeatedly pointed out that
they have been victims of Iraqi aggression under a variety of regimes
since the 1930s.
The ruling could also have far-reaching effects on Indonesia, where at
least two provinces, Aceh and West Papua, are seeking independence.
So far, only 69 countries of the 192 in the United Nations General
Assembly, including the U.S. and most of EU states, have recognized
Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
But a number of important countries, aside from China and Russia, have
refused to do so, including India, Brazil, Israel, Egypt, Indonesia,
and South Africa.
For Kosovo to obtain U.N. membership, it needs a two-third majority in
the General Assembly, plus the approval by all five permanent members
of the U.N. Security Council _ the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and
France.
"Already this weekend, special envoys will be dispatched to 55
countries throughout the world with my letter for the presidents of
states or governments," Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday.
"Many countries will be under pressure to recognize Kosovo before the
U.N. General Assembly in September," he said. "Serbia will do its
utmost so that there are the least possible such recognitions."
Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said he will send requests to
121 countries around the world asking for formal recognition of
Kosovo's independence.
"The opinion of the court has created an entirely new context, and in
line with this I have already started a new campaign today to animate
the countries that have not recognized Kosovo yet," Hyseni told the
Associated Press.
He said he will travel to the U.S. over the weekend for some 60
meetings with representatives of different nations in an attempt to
get more recognitions ahead of the General Assembly.
But Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic claimed Friday that many
countries around the world "are worried about the possible
misinterpretation" of the World Court ruling.
"It's a very dangerous precedent," Jeremic said. "Pandora's Box has
been opened, and it must be closed before something flies out of it."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, urged more countries
to recognize Kosovo.
"Kosovo has been functioning as an independent State for two and a
half years," he said in a statement. "I encourage other states that
have not so far recognized Kosovo now to do so. Kosovo is a unique
case and does not set a precedent."
The EU countries that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Greece,
Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania _ most grappling with separatism issues.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country
"respected" the U.N. court's ruling. But, he did not say whether Spain
_ which is faced with Catalan and Basque separatist movements _ will
now recognize Kosovo's independence.
Greece and Slovakia said the court's ruling won't make them change their minds.
Cyprus' foreign ministry said it remained firm in backing Serbia,
reaffirming its "unwavering position to respect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia, which includes Kosovo."
Romania has not yet officially reacted on the ruling, but the leader
of its restive ethnic Hungarians, Laszlo Tokes, said they should now
follow the Catalan model and hit the streets to demand more autonomy.
"Kosovo gained independence, couldn't we achieve autonomy?" he said.
Sergei Bagpash, the president of Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region,
also applauded the Kosovo ruling.
"I think the decision itself will have a great influence on the
efforts we are making," Bagpash told The Associated Press. "There can
be no double standards."
Russia recognized the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
as independent states after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war and has kept
troops there.
In Bosnia, which was divided after the bloody ethnic war in the 1990s
into two entities _ a Bosniak-Croat and a Serb one _ the Bosnian Serb
Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said the ruling "represents a good road
sign for our future," referring to the region's longtime desire to
split from Bosnia.
"It's inescapable that this ruling could have implications for other
territories and other peoples, but how this will play out remains to
be seen," said Tim Judah, a London-based Balkan analyst and author.
"It's too early to say because the court ruled on a very narrow
question, which was simply whether Kosovo's declaration was legal or
not," Judah said.
___
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Nebi Qena in
Pristina, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Sylvia Hui in London, Alison
Mutler in Bucharest and Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed
to this report.
Story Discussion By DUSAN STOJANOVIC | Posted: Friday, July 23, 2010
10:55 am | No Comments Posted
Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Share
Andrej Cukic A man passes by television screens showing a live
broadcast from the International Court of Justice in the Hague,
Netherlands, the United Nations' highest court, at a house appliances
store in the Serb dominated town of Kosovska-Mitrovica, some 50
kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Pristina, Kosovo, Thursday, July
22, 2010. Kosovo won a major victory on the world stage Thursday as
the United Nations' highest court said its 2008 declaration of
independence from Serbia was legal. (AP Photo/Andrej Cukic)
Serbia and Kosovo are dispatching competing armies of lobbyists to
governments that so far have wavered on recognizing the breakaway
province.
Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood and
religion, fears Thursday's ruling by the top U.N. court backing the
legality of the 2008 declaration of independence could lead to a wave
of new recognitions.
Its best hope for preventing Kosovo admission to the United Nations
may be vetoes by China and Russia which both have their own restive
regions _ a reflection of concerns in some countries that separatists
will be emboldened by the development.
The U.S. and many in the West insist Kosovo's statehood is a special
case because it is the result of a brutal Serbian ethnic cleansing
campaign against Albanian separatists that led to an international
administration in 1999, when NATO ejected Serb forces after a brief
aerial war.
"We call on those states, who have not yet done so, to recognize
Kosovo," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley on said on
Thursday. "Now is the time for them, for Kosovo and Serbia, to put
aside their differences and move forward."
Some experts say there's no practical way to prevent other
independence-minded regions from drawing inspiration from the Kosovo
ruling.
"The West wants to say that this case has no precedential importance,
but that's kind of a contortionist logic," said Dana Allin at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think
tank. "You can say that, but whether you can enforce it is hard to
say."
In its nonbinding decision announced Thursday, the top U.N. court said
it did not rule on the legality of Kosovo's statehood, but only on its
declaration of independence.
Regions around the world where separatists may be energized by
Kosovo's secession include Spain's Basque country and Catalonia,
Scotland, Italy's ethnic German-populated Alto Adige, and parts of
Romania and Slovakia populated by restive Hungarian minorities.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have declared independence from
Georgia, will also be encouraged by the ruling that states that such
unilateral declarations of independence are not illegal under
international law. Nearby, Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's
Nagorno-Karabah region may seek to legitimize their secession dating
back to the early 1990s.
In the Middle East, Kurdish politicians in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region have also said they will carefully study the ICJ decision.
Although the U.S. has insisted on keeping Iraq's territorial integrity
since the 2003 invasion, the Kurds have repeatedly pointed out that
they have been victims of Iraqi aggression under a variety of regimes
since the 1930s.
The ruling could also have far-reaching effects on Indonesia, where at
least two provinces, Aceh and West Papua, are seeking independence.
So far, only 69 countries of the 192 in the United Nations General
Assembly, including the U.S. and most of EU states, have recognized
Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
But a number of important countries, aside from China and Russia, have
refused to do so, including India, Brazil, Israel, Egypt, Indonesia,
and South Africa.
For Kosovo to obtain U.N. membership, it needs a two-third majority in
the General Assembly, plus the approval by all five permanent members
of the U.N. Security Council _ the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and
France.
"Already this weekend, special envoys will be dispatched to 55
countries throughout the world with my letter for the presidents of
states or governments," Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday.
"Many countries will be under pressure to recognize Kosovo before the
U.N. General Assembly in September," he said. "Serbia will do its
utmost so that there are the least possible such recognitions."
Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said he will send requests to
121 countries around the world asking for formal recognition of
Kosovo's independence.
"The opinion of the court has created an entirely new context, and in
line with this I have already started a new campaign today to animate
the countries that have not recognized Kosovo yet," Hyseni told the
Associated Press.
He said he will travel to the U.S. over the weekend for some 60
meetings with representatives of different nations in an attempt to
get more recognitions ahead of the General Assembly.
But Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic claimed Friday that many
countries around the world "are worried about the possible
misinterpretation" of the World Court ruling.
"It's a very dangerous precedent," Jeremic said. "Pandora's Box has
been opened, and it must be closed before something flies out of it."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, urged more countries
to recognize Kosovo.
"Kosovo has been functioning as an independent State for two and a
half years," he said in a statement. "I encourage other states that
have not so far recognized Kosovo now to do so. Kosovo is a unique
case and does not set a precedent."
The EU countries that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Greece,
Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania _ most grappling with separatism issues.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country
"respected" the U.N. court's ruling. But, he did not say whether Spain
_ which is faced with Catalan and Basque separatist movements _ will
now recognize Kosovo's independence.
Greece and Slovakia said the court's ruling won't make them change their minds.
Cyprus' foreign ministry said it remained firm in backing Serbia,
reaffirming its "unwavering position to respect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia, which includes Kosovo."
Romania has not yet officially reacted on the ruling, but the leader
of its restive ethnic Hungarians, Laszlo Tokes, said they should now
follow the Catalan model and hit the streets to demand more autonomy.
"Kosovo gained independence, couldn't we achieve autonomy?" he said.
Sergei Bagpash, the president of Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region,
also applauded the Kosovo ruling.
"I think the decision itself will have a great influence on the
efforts we are making," Bagpash told The Associated Press. "There can
be no double standards."
Russia recognized the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
as independent states after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war and has kept
troops there.
In Bosnia, which was divided after the bloody ethnic war in the 1990s
into two entities _ a Bosniak-Croat and a Serb one _ the Bosnian Serb
Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said the ruling "represents a good road
sign for our future," referring to the region's longtime desire to
split from Bosnia.
"It's inescapable that this ruling could have implications for other
territories and other peoples, but how this will play out remains to
be seen," said Tim Judah, a London-based Balkan analyst and author.
"It's too early to say because the court ruled on a very narrow
question, which was simply whether Kosovo's declaration was legal or
not," Judah said.
___
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Nebi Qena in
Pristina, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Sylvia Hui in London, Alison
Mutler in Bucharest and Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed
to this report.
From: A. Papazian
AP
Friday, July 23, 2010
Andrej Cukic A man passes by television screens showing a live
broadcast from the International Court of Justice in the Hague,
Netherlands, the United Nations' highest court, at a house appliances
store in the Serb dominated town of Kosovska-Mitrovica, some 50
kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Pristina, Kosovo, Thursday, July
22, 2010. Kosovo won a major victory on the world stage Thursday as
the United Nations' highest court said its 2008 declaration of
independence from Serbia was legal. (AP Photo/Andrej Cukic)
Serbia and Kosovo are dispatching competing armies of lobbyists to
governments that so far have wavered on recognizing the breakaway
province.
Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood and
religion, fears Thursday's ruling by the top U.N. court backing the
legality of the 2008 declaration of independence could lead to a wave
of new recognitions.
Its best hope for preventing Kosovo admission to the United Nations
may be vetoes by China and Russia which both have their own restive
regions _ a reflection of concerns in some countries that separatists
will be emboldened by the development.
The U.S. and many in the West insist Kosovo's statehood is a special
case because it is the result of a brutal Serbian ethnic cleansing
campaign against Albanian separatists that led to an international
administration in 1999, when NATO ejected Serb forces after a brief
aerial war.
"We call on those states, who have not yet done so, to recognize
Kosovo," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley on said on
Thursday. "Now is the time for them, for Kosovo and Serbia, to put
aside their differences and move forward."
Some experts say there's no practical way to prevent other
independence-minded regions from drawing inspiration from the Kosovo
ruling.
"The West wants to say that this case has no precedential importance,
but that's kind of a contortionist logic," said Dana Allin at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think
tank. "You can say that, but whether you can enforce it is hard to
say."
In its nonbinding decision announced Thursday, the top U.N. court said
it did not rule on the legality of Kosovo's statehood, but only on its
declaration of independence.
Regions around the world where separatists may be energized by
Kosovo's secession include Spain's Basque country and Catalonia,
Scotland, Italy's ethnic German-populated Alto Adige, and parts of
Romania and Slovakia populated by restive Hungarian minorities.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have declared independence from
Georgia, will also be encouraged by the ruling that states that such
unilateral declarations of independence are not illegal under
international law. Nearby, Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's
Nagorno-Karabah region may seek to legitimize their secession dating
back to the early 1990s.
In the Middle East, Kurdish politicians in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region have also said they will carefully study the ICJ decision.
Although the U.S. has insisted on keeping Iraq's territorial integrity
since the 2003 invasion, the Kurds have repeatedly pointed out that
they have been victims of Iraqi aggression under a variety of regimes
since the 1930s.
The ruling could also have far-reaching effects on Indonesia, where at
least two provinces, Aceh and West Papua, are seeking independence.
So far, only 69 countries of the 192 in the United Nations General
Assembly, including the U.S. and most of EU states, have recognized
Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
But a number of important countries, aside from China and Russia, have
refused to do so, including India, Brazil, Israel, Egypt, Indonesia,
and South Africa.
For Kosovo to obtain U.N. membership, it needs a two-third majority in
the General Assembly, plus the approval by all five permanent members
of the U.N. Security Council _ the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and
France.
"Already this weekend, special envoys will be dispatched to 55
countries throughout the world with my letter for the presidents of
states or governments," Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday.
"Many countries will be under pressure to recognize Kosovo before the
U.N. General Assembly in September," he said. "Serbia will do its
utmost so that there are the least possible such recognitions."
Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said he will send requests to
121 countries around the world asking for formal recognition of
Kosovo's independence.
"The opinion of the court has created an entirely new context, and in
line with this I have already started a new campaign today to animate
the countries that have not recognized Kosovo yet," Hyseni told the
Associated Press.
He said he will travel to the U.S. over the weekend for some 60
meetings with representatives of different nations in an attempt to
get more recognitions ahead of the General Assembly.
But Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic claimed Friday that many
countries around the world "are worried about the possible
misinterpretation" of the World Court ruling.
"It's a very dangerous precedent," Jeremic said. "Pandora's Box has
been opened, and it must be closed before something flies out of it."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, urged more countries
to recognize Kosovo.
"Kosovo has been functioning as an independent State for two and a
half years," he said in a statement. "I encourage other states that
have not so far recognized Kosovo now to do so. Kosovo is a unique
case and does not set a precedent."
The EU countries that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Greece,
Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania _ most grappling with separatism issues.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country
"respected" the U.N. court's ruling. But, he did not say whether Spain
_ which is faced with Catalan and Basque separatist movements _ will
now recognize Kosovo's independence.
Greece and Slovakia said the court's ruling won't make them change their minds.
Cyprus' foreign ministry said it remained firm in backing Serbia,
reaffirming its "unwavering position to respect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia, which includes Kosovo."
Romania has not yet officially reacted on the ruling, but the leader
of its restive ethnic Hungarians, Laszlo Tokes, said they should now
follow the Catalan model and hit the streets to demand more autonomy.
"Kosovo gained independence, couldn't we achieve autonomy?" he said.
Sergei Bagpash, the president of Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region,
also applauded the Kosovo ruling.
"I think the decision itself will have a great influence on the
efforts we are making," Bagpash told The Associated Press. "There can
be no double standards."
Russia recognized the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
as independent states after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war and has kept
troops there.
In Bosnia, which was divided after the bloody ethnic war in the 1990s
into two entities _ a Bosniak-Croat and a Serb one _ the Bosnian Serb
Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said the ruling "represents a good road
sign for our future," referring to the region's longtime desire to
split from Bosnia.
"It's inescapable that this ruling could have implications for other
territories and other peoples, but how this will play out remains to
be seen," said Tim Judah, a London-based Balkan analyst and author.
"It's too early to say because the court ruled on a very narrow
question, which was simply whether Kosovo's declaration was legal or
not," Judah said.
___
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Nebi Qena in
Pristina, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Sylvia Hui in London, Alison
Mutler in Bucharest and Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed
to this report.
Story Discussion By DUSAN STOJANOVIC | Posted: Friday, July 23, 2010
10:55 am | No Comments Posted
Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Share
Andrej Cukic A man passes by television screens showing a live
broadcast from the International Court of Justice in the Hague,
Netherlands, the United Nations' highest court, at a house appliances
store in the Serb dominated town of Kosovska-Mitrovica, some 50
kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Pristina, Kosovo, Thursday, July
22, 2010. Kosovo won a major victory on the world stage Thursday as
the United Nations' highest court said its 2008 declaration of
independence from Serbia was legal. (AP Photo/Andrej Cukic)
Serbia and Kosovo are dispatching competing armies of lobbyists to
governments that so far have wavered on recognizing the breakaway
province.
Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its statehood and
religion, fears Thursday's ruling by the top U.N. court backing the
legality of the 2008 declaration of independence could lead to a wave
of new recognitions.
Its best hope for preventing Kosovo admission to the United Nations
may be vetoes by China and Russia which both have their own restive
regions _ a reflection of concerns in some countries that separatists
will be emboldened by the development.
The U.S. and many in the West insist Kosovo's statehood is a special
case because it is the result of a brutal Serbian ethnic cleansing
campaign against Albanian separatists that led to an international
administration in 1999, when NATO ejected Serb forces after a brief
aerial war.
"We call on those states, who have not yet done so, to recognize
Kosovo," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley on said on
Thursday. "Now is the time for them, for Kosovo and Serbia, to put
aside their differences and move forward."
Some experts say there's no practical way to prevent other
independence-minded regions from drawing inspiration from the Kosovo
ruling.
"The West wants to say that this case has no precedential importance,
but that's kind of a contortionist logic," said Dana Allin at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think
tank. "You can say that, but whether you can enforce it is hard to
say."
In its nonbinding decision announced Thursday, the top U.N. court said
it did not rule on the legality of Kosovo's statehood, but only on its
declaration of independence.
Regions around the world where separatists may be energized by
Kosovo's secession include Spain's Basque country and Catalonia,
Scotland, Italy's ethnic German-populated Alto Adige, and parts of
Romania and Slovakia populated by restive Hungarian minorities.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have declared independence from
Georgia, will also be encouraged by the ruling that states that such
unilateral declarations of independence are not illegal under
international law. Nearby, Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's
Nagorno-Karabah region may seek to legitimize their secession dating
back to the early 1990s.
In the Middle East, Kurdish politicians in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region have also said they will carefully study the ICJ decision.
Although the U.S. has insisted on keeping Iraq's territorial integrity
since the 2003 invasion, the Kurds have repeatedly pointed out that
they have been victims of Iraqi aggression under a variety of regimes
since the 1930s.
The ruling could also have far-reaching effects on Indonesia, where at
least two provinces, Aceh and West Papua, are seeking independence.
So far, only 69 countries of the 192 in the United Nations General
Assembly, including the U.S. and most of EU states, have recognized
Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
But a number of important countries, aside from China and Russia, have
refused to do so, including India, Brazil, Israel, Egypt, Indonesia,
and South Africa.
For Kosovo to obtain U.N. membership, it needs a two-third majority in
the General Assembly, plus the approval by all five permanent members
of the U.N. Security Council _ the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and
France.
"Already this weekend, special envoys will be dispatched to 55
countries throughout the world with my letter for the presidents of
states or governments," Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday.
"Many countries will be under pressure to recognize Kosovo before the
U.N. General Assembly in September," he said. "Serbia will do its
utmost so that there are the least possible such recognitions."
Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said he will send requests to
121 countries around the world asking for formal recognition of
Kosovo's independence.
"The opinion of the court has created an entirely new context, and in
line with this I have already started a new campaign today to animate
the countries that have not recognized Kosovo yet," Hyseni told the
Associated Press.
He said he will travel to the U.S. over the weekend for some 60
meetings with representatives of different nations in an attempt to
get more recognitions ahead of the General Assembly.
But Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic claimed Friday that many
countries around the world "are worried about the possible
misinterpretation" of the World Court ruling.
"It's a very dangerous precedent," Jeremic said. "Pandora's Box has
been opened, and it must be closed before something flies out of it."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, urged more countries
to recognize Kosovo.
"Kosovo has been functioning as an independent State for two and a
half years," he said in a statement. "I encourage other states that
have not so far recognized Kosovo now to do so. Kosovo is a unique
case and does not set a precedent."
The EU countries that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Greece,
Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania _ most grappling with separatism issues.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country
"respected" the U.N. court's ruling. But, he did not say whether Spain
_ which is faced with Catalan and Basque separatist movements _ will
now recognize Kosovo's independence.
Greece and Slovakia said the court's ruling won't make them change their minds.
Cyprus' foreign ministry said it remained firm in backing Serbia,
reaffirming its "unwavering position to respect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia, which includes Kosovo."
Romania has not yet officially reacted on the ruling, but the leader
of its restive ethnic Hungarians, Laszlo Tokes, said they should now
follow the Catalan model and hit the streets to demand more autonomy.
"Kosovo gained independence, couldn't we achieve autonomy?" he said.
Sergei Bagpash, the president of Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region,
also applauded the Kosovo ruling.
"I think the decision itself will have a great influence on the
efforts we are making," Bagpash told The Associated Press. "There can
be no double standards."
Russia recognized the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
as independent states after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war and has kept
troops there.
In Bosnia, which was divided after the bloody ethnic war in the 1990s
into two entities _ a Bosniak-Croat and a Serb one _ the Bosnian Serb
Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said the ruling "represents a good road
sign for our future," referring to the region's longtime desire to
split from Bosnia.
"It's inescapable that this ruling could have implications for other
territories and other peoples, but how this will play out remains to
be seen," said Tim Judah, a London-based Balkan analyst and author.
"It's too early to say because the court ruled on a very narrow
question, which was simply whether Kosovo's declaration was legal or
not," Judah said.
___
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Nebi Qena in
Pristina, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Sylvia Hui in London, Alison
Mutler in Bucharest and Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed
to this report.
From: A. Papazian