Condoleezza blasts South Ossetia's independence: "It’s not going to happen"

She says no: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants Kosovo to be free, but not South Ossetia: "It's not going to happen"

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tiraspol Times) - Ossetians will be treated differently than Kosovars, according to the Bush administration's highest ranking diplomat. Barely two weeks after having recognized Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence against the wishes of Serbia, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it clear that there can be no similar recognition of the independence of South Ossetia.

Her statement came one day after South Ossetia asked the international community be recognized as independent the way same way that Kosovo has been.

While on her way to Brussels, Belgium, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked by a journalist if she thought that South Ossetia's independence was inevitable. Her answer was blunt and to the point.

" - It’s not going to happen," snapped Condoleezza Rice, cutting short the dreams and hopes of freedom which are shared by the South Ossetians.

" - I don’t want to try to judge the motives, but we’ve been very clear that Kosovo is sui generis and that that is because of the special circumstances out of which the breakup of Yugoslavia came," added the Bush-appointed official before again repeating that "it’s a special circumstance."

De facto independent state

Like Pridnestrovie (informally also known as Transnistria), which declared independence in 1990 and today functions as a fully independent country, South Ossetia also broke free from its Soviet-era past in the early 1990's and has today achieved all the practical elements of statehood but no international diplomatic recognition. The small and de facto independent state is located on the border between Georgia and Russia.

For the past 17 years, South Ossetia has governed its own affairs free of interference from Georgia, which pursues an unresolved territorial claim over the area. This period is twice as long as Kosovo has been pursuing independence. Although South Ossetia - like Pridnestrovie - meets the requirements for statehood under international law, it still lacks recognition and diplomatic relations except with other unrecognized countries.

Citing Kosovo as a precedent, South Ossetia has now called for international recognition of its de facto independence, news agency Interfax reported.

" - The Kosovo precedent presents a convincing argument," read a declaration adopted by the South Ossetian parliament this week, calling on the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to recognize the small state's independence.

Rice in 2007: Two state solution "makes sense"

A year ago, while on a visit to Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the formation of a new, separate state will solve a stalled territorial conflict. "It only makes sense," she told journalists in reference to Palestine. Experts in international law noted that her suggestion would also be a viable policy for other disputed territories as well.

On Tuesday, the parliament of the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia adopted a resolution requesting an international community on a basis of the Kosovo Precedent to assist them in a process of recognition.

In its statement, the democratically elected legislature of South Ossetia explains that "during the 17 years of our independence we have clearly proved the viability of our statehood, and the only thing that is now left is to simply legalize our sovereignty in accordance with UN principles."

It is also pointed out that in 2006, the voters of the South Ossetia once again confirmed the decision to carry on a process of building a sovereign, democratic and legal state.

See also:
» Conflict can be resolved by the creation of a separate state: Condoleezza Rice
» Abkhazia, South Ossetia to UN: "We're next"
» While Condi plays word games, Russia lists conflicts to solve

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