Europeans are beginning to see the dangerous consequences the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo has had for international relations. The newspaper Corriere della Sera in Italy published an article by the prominent Italian analyst Sergio Romano, who said that Kosovo proclaimed independence because that was the main aim of the Americans. Since the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia collapsed, Washington has tried to persuade their former constituent parts to join NATO and the EU. They need them to threaten Russian national interests and to prevent European members from developing a common European policy. In other words, Kosovo hasn’t been setting its own strategic goals. This is a matter of American dominance in its attempt to “disarm” its possible rivals in Europe, although the EU is thought to be America’s closest partner. The EU is split over Kosovo. Great Britain, France, Germany, and some other states have immediately supported the US notion of independence for Kosovo, while Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, and some other countries announced their protests against it. They’re aware that the Kosovo issue may set a dangerous precedent for the whole world order. Aleksandr Konovalov, the President of the Institute for Strategic Assessment made the following comments. “We’re witnessing the beginning of widespread changes in the world order that has existed since 1945. It’s a brand new situation, but, obviously, there’s no need to establish these new conventions. Now, Europe may face several bids for independence, and not only from Spain, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and the Balkan states, where separatism has long been an everyday notion. There are many more regions where separatist groups would take the Kosovo issue as an example”. In his article, Mr Romano wrote, “I understand why the US and Great Britain favoured the independence of Kosovo, but I can hardly understand why France, Germany, and Italy haven’t yet expressed disagreement”.
25 February 2008
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=23351&cid=56&p=25.02.2008
