Koštunica: Russian reaction "suitable"

Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is a “suitable reaction”, says Vojislav Kostunica. The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader said that it was a reaction to the attempts by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to resolve a territorial problem through force. Kostunica: Russian reaction "suitable" “At my last speech to the UN Security Council, I warned that retracing Serbia’s frontiers heralded a new era in international relations, linked to the revision of many borders and increased instability,” he told Itar-Tass. Kostunica said that his views and warnings had received Russia’s full and principled support. “It’s patently clear that the bulk of the responsibility for violating international law lies with the U.S., which ensured the Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence,“ he said. The DSS leader stated that the U.S., through its policy of force from its position on the other side of the world, had supported the aspirations of the Georgian president to settle complicated and long-term problems in relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia through military means. “If you take all that into account, Russia’s reaction was suitable,“ surmised Kostunica. The DSS leader said that “Serbia, from its own experience, knows what the real reason for the increased crisis and instability is, and which, in the wake of Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration, threatens peace to an ever greater degree.“ “In these circumstances, Serbia should bear in mind two important factors—the need to respect the norms of international law and to develop the closest possible relations with Russia, which has supported Serbia in its defense of Kosovo the whole time,“ he stressed. Meanwhile Serb Radical Party (SRS) Secretary-General Aleksandar Vucic says that Serbia should recognize the independence of the two Georgian secessionist regions. “We can recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and once the U.S. and the EU withdraw their recognitions of Kosovo independence, we’ll withdraw ours too. Once they do that, we too will start behaving differently,” Vucic told a press conference. The SRS official said that by recognizing Kosovo’s independence, the West had set a “terrible precedent” and had brought the world into a great and serious crisis. “They insisted that international order based on the UN Charter should not be respected, and today it is the greatest hypocrisy when the Western powers say how Georgia’s territorial integrity should be respected, while they fail to respect Serbia’s,” he pointed out. Vojislav Kostunica (Tanjug, archive)

Koštunica: Russian reaction "suitable"

“At my last speech to the UN Security Council, I warned that retracing Serbia’s frontiers heralded a new era in international relations, linked to the revision of many borders and increased instability,” he told Itar-Tass.

Koštunica said that his views and warnings had received Russia’s full and principled support.

“It’s patently clear that the bulk of the responsibility for violating international law lies with the U.S., which ensured the Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence,“ he said.

The DSS leader stated that the U.S., through its policy of force from its position on the other side of the world, had supported the aspirations of the Georgian president to settle complicated and long-term problems in relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia through military means.

“If you take all that into account, Russia’s reaction was suitable,“ surmised Koštunica.

The DSS leader said that “Serbia, from its own experience, knows what the real reason for the increased crisis and instability is, and which, in the wake of Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration, threatens peace to an ever greater degree.“

“In these circumstances, Serbia should bear in mind two important factors—the need to respect the norms of international law and to develop the closest possible relations with Russia, which has supported Serbia in its defense of Kosovo the whole time,“ he stressed.

Meanwhile Serb Radical Party (SRS) Secretary-General Aleksandar Vučić says that Serbia should recognize the independence of the two Georgian secessionist regions.

“We can recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and once the U.S. and the EU withdraw their recognitions of Kosovo independence, we’ll withdraw ours too. Once they do that, we too will start behaving differently,” Vučić told a press conference.

The SRS official said that by recognizing Kosovo’s independence, the West had set a “terrible precedent” and had brought the world into a great and serious crisis.

“They insisted that international order based on the UN Charter should not be respected, and today it is the greatest hypocrisy when the Western powers say how Georgia’s territorial integrity should be respected, while they fail to respect Serbia’s,” he pointed out.