'West Ignored Us on Kosovo', says Medvedev

Belgrade _ Russia's President says Moscow had to recognise the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions because sovereignty cannot be offered to one people and denied to others.

In a commentary for London’s Financial Times, Dimitry Medvedev said that “in international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule for others.”

In a piece titled Why I had to Recognise Georgia’s Breakaway Regions, Medvedev added that “ignoring Russia’s warnings, western countries rushed to recognise Kosovo’s illegal declaration of independence from Serbia.”

“We argued consistently that it would be impossible, after that, to tell the Abkhazians and Ossetians (and dozens of other groups around the world) that what was good for the Kosovo Albanians was not good for them,” he argued.

Explaining Moscow’s move, Medvedev wrote that “it was not a step taken lightly, or without full consideration of the consequences. But all possible outcomes had to be weighed against a sober understanding of the situation – the histories of the Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples, their freely expressed desire for independence, the tragic events of the past weeks and international precedents for such a move.”

Russia staunchly backs Serbia in opposing Kosovo’s February 17 declaration of independence and supports Belgrade’s bid to get an International Court of Justice ruling on the legality of Pristina’s move.

Meanwhile, Belgrade appeared unfazed by the recognitions, saying it will pursue a policy of respecting international law and territorial integrity - despite the potential of Russia's move to complicate relations between Belgrade and Moscow. Read more: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/12654/