http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=178886
Interfax July 22, 2010 UN court ruling on Kosovo opens Pandora’s box – lawmaker -"This ruling and the position assumed by a majority of Western countries seems extremely strange, to say the least. We were witnessing one ethnic group aggressively ousting and destroying another ethnic group that had lived in Kosovo for centuries." -The International Court of Justice "has actually legitimatized the deadly bloodshed we witnessed several years ago before Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence." MOSCOW: Dangerous trends could make themselves felt after the UN highest court ruled that Kosovo's independence does not break international law, said Leonid Slutsky, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee. The International Court of Justice earlier on Thursday ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not break international law. "This ruling could be likened to Pandora's box, and I can foresee a lot of dangerous trends emerging globally similar to what was going on in Kosovo at one time," Slutsky told Interfax. But he said that the International Court of Justice's decision was predictable. "It is awful, though, that a majority of the world's advanced nations backed the position of unilateral recognition of Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence. Yet, this is happening in the 21st century," Slutsky said. "This ruling and the position assumed by a majority of Western countries seems extremely strange, to say the least. We were witnessing one ethnic group aggressively ousting and destroying another ethnic group that had lived in Kosovo for centuries," he said. Today's ruling is a vivid example of how double standards are being applied in the politics of many countries, he continued. "Neither logic, nor common sense is to be found here. Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence is recognized as normal, while the independence, proclaimed by Abkhazia and South Ossetia, is not recognized by an overwhelming majority of the international community," he said. The ruling passed by the International Court of Justice is "a clearly collective and very serious twist in international politics, in institutions of law and in the world's leading nations," Slutsky said. The International Court of Justice's decision is political, rather than legal, said Leonid Kalashnikov, first vice chairman of the International Affairs Committee. "But if the question is tossed to the UN court, whether the self-proclaimed independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia was legitimate, the answer will be different in principle - negative," he said. The International Court of Justice "has actually legitimatized the deadly bloodshed we witnessed several years ago before Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence," he also said. Kalashnikov said that most countries recognized Kosovo's independence long before the ruling was passed, "which fuelled separatist sentiment in a number of trouble regions."
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