The "Kosovo Precedent" in Statementsof Russian Leaders

Abstract

The article shows the transformation of the views of the Russian leadership on the "Kosovo precedent" - the self-proclamation in 2008 of the independence of the former Serbian autonomy of Kosovo, inhabited mainly by ethnic Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia. Initially, in order to resolve the Kosovo conflict, official Moscow insisted on the priority of the principles of the inviolability of borders and the territorial integrity of the state (in this case, the Serbian), over the right to self-determination of the Serbian Albanians and called on the "collective West" to prevent gross violation of international law, then of the August 2008 conflict and the recognition of independence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and especially Crimea in March 2014 it became clear that in the eyes of the Russian leadership the principle of self-determination of peoples may well dominate the principle of territorial integrity. The foreign policy concept has changed dramatically: the Russian leadership has become directly refer to the Kosovo example. Russia turned out to be the only country that actually used the "Kosovo precedent", which it had previously criticized, to solve its ambitious foreign policy objectives.

Keywords

• the province of kosovo
• crimea
• the principle of state territorial integrity
• the right of people to self-determination
• secession.