Kosovo’s independence linked to Tibet riots: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Kosovo’s independence was linked to the recent riots in Tibet.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said that the Kosovo’s independence was linked to the recent riots in Tibet and termed as “immoral” the separatist tendencies in multi-ethnic states.

“There are ground to presume that this is not occurring by chance. You can see what is happening in China’s autonomous region of Tibet, how the separatists there are acting. The Albanians in Macedonia are already demanding a level of autonomy that is a clear step toward independence.

“Furthermore, events in other areas of the world give us grounds to assume that we are only at the beginning of a very precarious process,” Lavrov told the state newspaper ‘Rossiiskaya Gazeta’ in an interview.

“In my view encouraging separatist tendencies (in multi-ethnic nations) is immoral,” he said.

The Minister also urged Middle East countries not to recognise Kosovo’s independence.

“The recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence by many countries, including the US and majority of EU states, had already reverberated in many regions,” Lavrov said.

“The Kosovo situation is a glaring example of ethnic separatism,” Lavrov said.

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Lavrov will embark on a 3-day visit to West Asian countries on Wednesday.