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Street scene from Tiraspol: Transdniestria (Pridnestrovie) is one of the 4 new countries closely watching Kosovo for a precedent

STEPANAKERT (Tiraspol Times) - Despite Armenia’s declared position that Kosovo independence will not be used as precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh, political and diplomatic circles in the country are closely watching the developments around the breakaway Serbian province.

Kosovo's authorities plan to declare independence unilaterally, against the will of Serbia. The United States and most of the European Union members have voiced their readiness to recognize Kosovo’s independence despite Serbian objections.

" - We have no intentions to use Kosovo as precedent, as it will contradict our position that all conflicts differ,” Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan declared at the UN General Assembly session in October. But he added that the Armenian side “does not understand and cannot accept the reverse logic that Kosovo was given independence and that another nation cannot obtain self-determination."

Different degrees of freedom?

The foreign minister also stated that there can not be two sets of rules when it comes to unrecognized countries, and that his country will not accept the concept that there can be different degrees of freedom or security depending on each case.

" - Nobody should tell us that there are proportions of freedom or security," Oskanyan said then.

His statement referred to the logic of Kosovo independence becoming a precedent for resolving other conflicts located “east of Kosovo”, mainly the four self-declared republics in the territory of the former USSR – Transdniestria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite the differences existing between the two conflicts, it is patently clear that some aspects of the Kosovo settlement have things in common with these other conflicts, analysts stated. In the case with Kosovo, the international community is in fact offering political independence to an autonomous region despite the objection of the country that officially claims sovereignty over it.

Armenia's Deputy Parliament Speaker Vahan Hovhannisyan said that regardless of the wish of the international negotiators involved in the Kosovo resolution, the ultimate solution in Kosovo would be a factor influencing Nagorno-Karabakh's settlement as well. The same is true for Transdniestria, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Abkhazia rejects non-objective mediators

The Republic of Abkhazia, next to Georgia, declared through a top diplomat that if Kosovo’s independence is recognized by the international community and the move is not followed by its recognition of Abkhazia’s right to sovereignty, then “the Abkhazian side will reject mediation by countries whose positions are not objective.”

David Gharabekyan, a political analyst from Nagorno-Karabakh, says in this connection that “on Kosovo, the international community is acting as an advocate for self-determination.” But when it comes to settling conflicts on post-Soviet territory, a number of influential states prefer "factual justification of the totalitarian policy in the national issue," in other words clinging to the claims of a so-called territorial integrity which the claimant states have been unable to impose for most of their existence.

On 10 December 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum on independence, which took place under unceasing Azerbaijan shelling of the capital Stepanakert. The overwhelming majority of Karabakh voters then expressed their aspiration to build an independent state. Ten of those voters had been killed by the end of the day. (With information from ArmeniaNow)

See also:
» Parallels with Pridnestrovie: Euro MP says Kosovo not unique [1]
» Former ASSR Pridnestrovie reminds Moldova: "You yourself denounced our union" [2]
» Like it or not, here's the Kosovo precedent [3]