Rupel: Kosovo-Georgia comparison "stupid"

Global recognition of Kosovo as grounds for similar claims by other groups is a "stupid" argument, says Dimitrij Rupel. At a press conference in Ljubljana on Friday, the Slovenian foreign minister said that the argument that “citing international recognition of Kosovo as a reason for similar claims by other nations in the world“ was unfounded, adding that this was “a very stupid and erroneous argument“. Rupel: Kosovo-Georgia comparison "stupid" “I don’t know how many times we’ve said that the Kosovo problem is sui generis and that in the case of Kosovo there was coordinated action by the international community,“ said Rupel, reiterating that the Kosovo issue had been discussed by the Contact Group, and that a number of meetings had been held to set a date. “That was agreed on with our Kosovo friends too,“ said the minister, arguing that on the basis of this it was impossible to compare the situation in Kosovo with what was happening in Georgia. The Georgia issue will also be one of the central themes of the Bled Strategic Forum to be held on Sunday and Monday, which will also address the issues of the energy crisis and climate change. On the issues of Georgia and Russia, Rupel said that it would be known on Monday whether sanctions would be applied against Russia. “Slovenia does not particularly favor sanctions for the Russian Federation, but we think that we need to speak with our Russian friends frankly, while adhering to what was agreed on by Presidents [Nicolas] Sarkozy and [Dmitry] Medvedev,“ said the minister, adding that Russia had to return to its pre-conflict positions, which would make talks with Moscow easier. He added that “some within the EU want a confrontation with Russia, as do some outside the EU,“ and that these were countries that had once had difficulties with the old USSR. “I think that confrontation could be counter-productive and pointless,“ said Rupel, adding that it was necessary to seriously discuss what intentions the EU had as far as expansion was concerned and what its borders were, as it had moved towards defining borders on many previous occasions, but had never said exactly how far they should reach, as diverging opinions existed on Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia. “The EU wants to resolve the issue of the Caucusus and disputes, ’frozen conflicts’,“ adding that these included problems in Moldova and Ukraine, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the problems in South Ossetia and Abkhazia,“ which are formally a part of Georgia that they’re distancing themselves from, which is very worrying.“ Rupel said that Georgia should be told that as a sovereign state it had obligations, not just rights, as this was “a difficult issue of multi-ethnic territory, a problem of intercultural understanding and co-existence, such as we experienced in the former Yugoslavia, which is why it would not be good to renounce our principles.“ Dimitrij Rupel (FoNet, archive)

Rupel: Kosovo-Georgia comparison "stupid"

“I don’t know how many times we’ve said that the Kosovo problem is sui generis and that in the case of Kosovo there was coordinated action by the international community,“ said Rupel, reiterating that the Kosovo issue had been discussed by the Contact Group, and that a number of meetings had been held to set a date.

“That was agreed on with our Kosovo friends too,“ said the minister, arguing that on the basis of this it was impossible to compare the situation in Kosovo with what was happening in Georgia.

The Georgia issue will also be one of the central themes of the Bled Strategic Forum to be held on Sunday and Monday, which will also address the issues of the energy crisis and climate change.

On the issues of Georgia and Russia, Rupel said that it would be known on Monday whether sanctions would be applied against Russia.

“Slovenia does not particularly favor sanctions for the Russian Federation, but we think that we need to speak with our Russian friends frankly, while adhering to what was agreed on by Presidents [Nicolas] Sarkozy and [Dmitry] Medvedev,“ said the minister, adding that Russia had to return to its pre-conflict positions, which would make talks with Moscow easier.

He added that “some within the EU want a confrontation with Russia, as do some outside the EU,“ and that these were countries that had once had difficulties with the old USSR.

“I think that confrontation could be counter-productive and pointless,“ said Rupel, adding that it was necessary to seriously discuss what intentions the EU had as far as expansion was concerned and what its borders were, as it had moved towards defining borders on many previous occasions, but had never said exactly how far they should reach, as diverging opinions existed on Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia.

“The EU wants to resolve the issue of the Caucusus and disputes, ’frozen conflicts’,“ adding that these included problems in Moldova and Ukraine, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the problems in South Ossetia and Abkhazia,“ which are formally a part of Georgia that they’re distancing themselves from, which is very worrying.“

Rupel said that Georgia should be told that as a sovereign state it had obligations, not just rights, as this was “a difficult issue of multi-ethnic territory, a problem of intercultural understanding and co-existence, such as we experienced in the former Yugoslavia, which is why it would not be good to renounce our principles.“