U.S. Reiterates Support for Georgia’s Territorial Integrity
The United States rejects any attempts to link the Kosovo case to the resolution of other conflicts involving ethnic minorities on the territories of sovereign states, Sean McCormack, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said on February 19.
“I know that [the] Russians, in the past, cited Kosovo as a precedent for Abkhazia and South Ossetia and we have rejected, out of hand, any attempt to link those two and I think others have as well,” McCormack said at a news briefing in Washington D.C.
He reiterated that the United States recognizes Georgia’s territorial integrity and encourages dialogue among the parties to help them work through their differences in a peaceful way.
“The Russians will say what they believe is in their interest. We think it is in the interest not only of the region of the South Caucasus, but of the Balkans to encourage dialogue, to encourage greater stability, to encourage dialogue among parties that helps – helps parties work through differences in a peaceful – in a peaceful way,” the U.S. official said. “We have stood fast on the principle of recognizing and standing for Georgia’s territorial integrity. I don’t see that changing anytime at all. So, you know, maybe the Russians will have a slightly different view, but we think that the vast majority of states around the world have come out and said that they don’t see any linkage between Kosovo and any other – in any other potential resolution to conflicts involving ethnic minorities on territories of sovereign states.”
Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, said in a statement on February 18 that Kosovo could not be seen “as a precedent for any other situation in the world today.”
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