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For 17 years, the only flag which has ever flown over the unrecognized country is Transnistria's. Moldova is nowhere to be seen

PRISTINA (Tiraspol Times) - A top diplomat in Kosovo says that Transnistria has more reasons for official recognition of independence than Kosovo does. The same applies to three other unrecognized countries in the post-Soviet space, says Andrei Dronov, head of the Russian mission in Kosovo.

" - Unlike Kosovo Albanians, those republics have been living as independent entities for a long time and are earning their living without being UN protectorates," Dronov said, referring to Abkhazia, Transnistria, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh. "It would be logical to say that they have many more reasons for official independence than Kosovo."

The head of the Russian mission in Kosovo is against setting artificial deadlines. No such deadlines have been set for Transnistria, which has been in legal limbo with no status settlement for nearly 17 years since the republic declared independence in September 1990. Other unresolved conflicts include Palestine and Taiwan, both with approximately fifty years and no general agreement over statehood recognition.

Kosovo-based diplomat Andrei Dronov: "It would be logical to say that Transnistria has more reasons for official independence than Kosovo."

" - We believe that it is counterproductive to set deadlines when sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake, as the Ahtisaari plan [to grant Kosovo independence without the prior consent of Serbia] stipulates," he told the newspaper Izvestia.

The high-ranking official said that Kosovo Albanians might unilaterally proclaim independence, but that this would be the "the worst variant for everyone, including Kosovo and Serbia."

" - First, that would run counter to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which reaffirms the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, and therefore its legal successor, Serbia," Dronov said.

" - Second, the EU mission will be out on a limb, because it received its mandate from the UN Security Council. And third, it will create a precedent." In that case, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia will demand the same treatment, news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Unilateral independence declaration illegal for Kosovo, OK for Transnistria

Since today's Kosovo is the result of a UN resolution which guarantees Serbia's territorial integrity, independence is not legally possible through a unilateral declaration of independence.

Transnistria, however, has no such restraint or limitation upon it since its current status is not based on any involvement by the United Nations and is also not created by a foreign-led NATO war.

As the most widely used method of state creation under international law, the vast majority of the world's current nations came into being through unilateral declarations of independence. Unilateral declarations of independence were used to declare independence not just for Transnistria but also for its two neighbors, Moldova and Ukraine. By unilaterally declaring their independence, all three invoked the right to decide their respective futures “without external interference
and in keeping with the ideals and aspirations of the people” (to quote Moldova's own declaration of independence).

It is natural that Kosovo's leaders now want to do the same since most of the current nations of the world in their current form came into existence by the will of its people through the application of the principles of self-determination or a declaration of independence, or both. But as a UN protectorate, established and run by the UN, Kosovo is unique because its status can not be changed without UN consent.

A democratic independence referendum - if agreed to with the United Nations, even if Serbia does not agree - would probably offer a way out.

Following overwhelmingly favorable referendum results, Transnistria declared its independence on September 2, 1990 – nearly a year before the independence declarations of Moldova, to the west, and Ukraine, to the east. All three were unilateral declarations of independence. Unlike the other two, however, Transnistria’s was the only one which first had a referendum to consult the will of the people in advance of the declaration.

Later developments in international law have shown that if the state creation is the result of a democratic referendum on independence - such as East Timor, or most recently Montenegro in 2006 - the right to self-determination and freedom takes precedence over outside claims to so-called territorial integrity.

Transnistria - whose constitutional short-form name is Pridnestrovie - currently meets the requirements for statehood under international law. This is not yet the case with Kosovo. (With information from RIA Novosti, Izvestia)

See also:
» When will Russia apply "The Reverse Holbrooke?" [1]
» Double standards over Kosovo [2]
» "Transnistria independence before Kosovo" says top Washington expert [3]