The International Court of the UN, by relaxing the principle of the territorial unity of states on July 22nd, has prepared a legal basis for forming a set of independent states all over the world, Baku believes.
The declaration of independence from Serbia by Kosovan Albanians does not violate international law, the consultative decision says. At the same time, the court considered only the declaration of independence itself, not the breaking away from Serbia unilaterally. The court did not consider the recognition of Kosovan independence by other countries.
Although the court’s decision has no binding legal power, it is obvious that it will lead to other political processes. Spain, Brazil, China, India, Georgia and Iraq understand this and reject it. Washington hoped that the Muslim world would support the appearance of a new Muslim state, but there was none.
Baku believes that the precedent of Kosovo will not affect the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, but it predicts that Armenia will use the decision as an additional argument for the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that there is now an example of two Albanian states, which contradicts the arguments of Azerbaijan, that the Armenians can’t declare self-determination twice and have two states.
Yet Baku is confident that recognition of Kosovo, supported by the USA and other western countries, is an example of double-standards and can hardly be a decision for Nagorno-Karabakh. Even if the same court considers the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the decision may be different. The position of the USA and some countries of the EU, that recognize the independence of Kosovo, is aimed at total revision of international law and serves as a legal excuse for the actions of NATO against Serbia. It does not mean that Washington will have the same attitude towards Nagorno-Karabakh.
The USA is trying to strengthen its Southern European military presence in Kosovo, which is totally dependent on them. The fact that the US State Department at first declared the Kosovo Liberation Army to be drug dealers and terrorists and then suddenly changed its position and started supporting them is highly significant, The Washington Times said. The USA needs territory for a military base beyond the USA (Camp Bondstil) to use against Russia and protect the construction of the Albanian-Macedonian-Bulgarian oil pipeline, going through Kosovo.
Obviously the International Court will not recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because their sovereignty has not been recognized by the majority of the international community. The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is not likely to be resolved in the same way as Kosovo. The main difference between the two issues is that Kosovo is an interstate conflict, while Nagorno-Karabakh is a conflict between two states – Armenia and Azerbaijan. Another difference is the role of the international community in the conflicts, in particular, the presence of NATO peacekeepers in the Balkans. The world community has a different attitude towards the two conflicts, confirming a commitment to the territorial unity of Azerbaijan.
Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Baku. Exclusively for VK.
