Moscow - Shortly after the southern Serb province Kosovo
declared independence on Sunday, the presidents of Georgia's
breakaway provinces Abchasia and Southern Ossetia said they were
planning similar initiatives.
'Abchasia will turn to Russia, the UN Security Council and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and ask for a recognition of
its independence,' Abchasian President Sergei Bagapsh was quoted as
saying by the Interfax news agency.
'Southern Ossetia and Abchasia have a better political and legal
basis for their recognition than Kosovo,' the President of Southern
Ossetia, Eduard Kokojty, said.
He was convinced that the two regions would become independent
shortly, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned that other regions
with 'separatist tendencies' might follow Kosovo's example. He
accused the Kosovo Albanian on Thursday of 'unjustified and immoral'
actions.
'With this development in Kosovo, Pandora's box has been opened,'
Russian political scientist Andranik Migranyan said.
The recognition of the breakaway province clearly contravened
international law and would cause a 'wave of instability,' he added.
According to the expert, Kosovo would become a 'precedent' for
other conflict regions in Europe, such as the Basque country in
Northern Spain or Corsica.
Russia has demanded an immediate crisis meeting of the United
Nations Security Council following Kosovo's declaration of
independence.
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