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British ex-Ambassador wants border changes for security and prosperity
A former British Ambassador to Serbia says borders should be shifted "if the existing ones do not provide sense of security and prosperity to citizens". Sir Ivor Roberts is in favor of Kosovo partition. The outspoken ex-Ambassador thinks everyone should share the pain of losing land. 
Sir Ivor Roberts, KCMG: "Borders should be shifted" (Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office)LONDON (Tiraspol Times) - Sharing the pain equally is the best way to solve the mess in Kosovo. That, in a nutshell, is the view of Sir Ivor Roberts, KCMG, who was formerly London's top man in Belgrade and is intimately familiar with the intricacies of the Balkans.
In his view, Kosovo status settlement should be sought in some kind of division that will leave both sides "equally discontented", Sir Ivor Roberts told the BBC.
The former British Ambassador to Yugoslavia said that it would be much better "to divide the province and inflict pain on both sides than to adopt the absolutist decree of Martti Ahtisaari."
His stance is that the borders should be shifted "if the existing ones do not provide sense of security and prosperity to the citizens."
Allow Kosovo's borders to change, says a former British ambassador to the region.
Transdniester is an easier case, since the current borders of the unrecognized country now generally conform to the borders between pre-Stalin Moldova and the MASSR, an autonomous republic which existed until 1940 with Tiraspol as its capital.
- "West took part in disintegration of SFRY"
According to Sir Ivor Roberts, multi-ethnicity is a concept that should not be imposed or instigated.
" - Everybody's talking about multiethnic states now. However, we had one already - SFRY, in which disintegration we from the West also took part. Therefore, we have to redouble our efforts and make sure that the newly established states do not endanger minorities' right", said the former British Ambassador.
Sir Ivor Roberts, KCMG, is the current President of Trinity College, Oxford and a former British ambassador to Italy, Ireland and Serbia.
He joined the Foreign Office in 1968, becoming - in 1992 - the United Kingdom's first ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on its recognition as a sovereign state. Afterwards he served as ambassador to the Republic of Ireland and Italy.
In 2000 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG). Apart from serving as the President of Trinity College, Oxford, he has also been elected member of King's College in Madrid. (With information from BBC)
See also:
» Harvard study gives support for Pridnestrovie statehood
» Moldovan-born politician on conflict settlement: "Separating the two sides is best solution"
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A former Foreign Minister of Romania says that Moldova ought to "decouple" itself from Transdniestria. Adrian Severin says it is the only way for Moldova to focus on its European aspirations. He also sees no future in fighting for unity of Moldova and Transdniestria "within borders imposed by Stalin." . . 
