After the Revolution

In a flurry of acronyms, the U.S. and the U.K. supported Georgia at the U.N. this week in the Abkhazia dispute.
Russia withdrew trade sanctions against the breakaway republic last week.
The United States and Britain criticized the move, saying it opened up the possibility of weapons trade.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will discuss the issue with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon […]

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The breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have already invited the whole gang to their international recognition party. (No RSVPs yet.)
But that doesn’t stop Russia from warning Georgia that what will really set the two provinces on an independence rampage is Georgia’s intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
According to an article from the BBC, Russia’s NATO ambassador […]

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It seems Vladimir Putin was right. Then again, as illustrated by Russia’s recent presidential election, he’s not averse to stacking the cards to prove his point.
Yesterday the parliament of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s two breakaway republics, declared its independence to the international community.
The day before, Russia had announced it would lift trade restrictions to the province.
Wouldn’t you know it, […]

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Finally, I found an article that mentions what the governments of breakaway provinces in former Soviet republics think of Kosovan independence.
In this article from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are quoted as saying that they will make appeals for independence to the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
They […]

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All that waving of American flags, and the best George Bush can give Kosovo is an adjective.
Today Bush called Kosovo’s people “independent” but stopped short of officially recognizing Kosovo as an independent state.
This doesn’t mean that Bush refuses to recognize Kosovo officially, but it might have something to do with the European Union’s failure to take an official position on […]

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Have you ever seen a country being born?
The Prime Minister of Kosovo declared Kosovo “independent, sovereign and free“ in a session of Parliament today.
To watch the BBC’s video of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci reading the declaration of independence from Serbia to the Parliament, click here.
But to watch the party outside, click here.
Mark Mardell described it in his blog:
“The streets of […]

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Russia is not alone in its aversion to the idea of Kosovan independence.
According to an article published today on the BBC’s Web site, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Spain have their complaints as well.
Many in those countries fear that recognition of a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo will encourage separatist movements elsewhere.
Turks who control northern Cyprus, ethnic Hungarians looking for greater autonomy in Romania and Slovakia, and […]

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The Tiraspol Times, a publication from the Russian-backed rogue state of Transdniestria in the Republic of Moldova, has been covering news about fellow breakaway republic Abkhazia in Georgia.
Its most recent article in the subject area gives a slanted view of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s report on Abkhazia.
For a more balanced account, check out the Georgia Times.
The […]

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In his blog, “This is Tbilisi Calling,” journalist and author Matthew Collin provided a link to a EurasiaNet audio slideshow portraying displaced ethnic Georgians who fled the breakaway region of Abkhazia during the civil war there.
Since I’ve been on the topic of breakaway regions, I’ll give a little history of Abkhazia.
The Abkhaz people are closely related to Russians in the North […]

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Kosovo’s prime minister, Hashim Thaci, has said a declaration of independence for the region is days away. Kosovo is a southern province of Serbia.
The BBC ran an article today raising the question of whether recognition of Kosovo’s independence would bring the spotlight back to the breakaway republic of South Ossetia in Georgia.
Georgia declared its independence […]

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