Putin: Independence harmful and dangerous

BERLIN -- Russian President Vladimir Putin advocated compromise and told Der Spiegel Kosovo’s independence would be dangerous.

Asked whether the veto wielding UN Security Council members could yet reach a compromise over the contentious issue of Kosovo’s future status, Putin told the German magazine that he would have long since suggested a compromise if he knew one.

“I do not know one. But, we need to patiently seek such outcome,” Putin added.

Putin refrained from a direct answer to the question about the Russian reaction to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence.

The Russian president also said Kosovo was not an isolated case, since residents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Pridniestrovlie have had their own parliaments and presidents for the past 15 years and consider themselves independent.

“We cannot allow independence for Kosovo, at the same time stripping other nations of their right to self-determination. An independent Kosovo would support separatism in Europe,” Putin said, and added that such developments would reflect in the Basque regions, Scotland and especially in the Balkans.

“Why would we provoke all that, it’s harmful and dangerous,” Putin concluded.


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