Lavrov compares Kosovo to Crime at Paris Peace Forum

He has accused Western states of double standards, since according to Lavrov “when something is in the interest of the West, they consider people's right to self-rule as sacred, but when something is not linked to their interests, then they declare this right as illegal”.

The illustration of these statements has been Kosovo and Crimea.

“Compare Kosovo and Crime: A referendum has been held in the Crimea and there has been no referendum in Kosovo. However, Kosovo is immediately recognised as an independent state by most Western countries”, he has said.

Russia annexed the Crime Peninsula from Russia in 2014.

The referendum held in this region has been deemed illegal by Ukraine and Western powers.

The United States and Western countries have sanctioned Russia for the move until these measures have continued even because of the role of Russian separatists in fighting government forces east of Ukraine.

As a result of these fighting, over 10,300 people have died.

Kosovo's independence was announced on February 17th 2008.

According to the Kosovo Foreign Ministry, the citizenship of this country has been recognised by 116 states. /rel