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It was inevitable that after the mini-war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, there would be a post-mortem war of words between Russia and the West. Russia blames the West for being behind the arming of Georgia and increased tension between the two neighbours; the West blames Russia for incursion into territory over which it has no right. It could be said that somewhere between these two arguments lies the truth, as neither side is completely wrong, nor conversely, are they completely right.
The arguments put forward by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over recognition of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and published in Gulf News yesterday, contained a good point.
The same or similar arguments had been put forward by Western leaders over the recognition of Kosovo, thereby setting a precedent for such intervention by foreign powers. Since then, a number of incidents have taken place globally which have entailed meddling into the domestic affairs of foreign nations - but usually only if by doing so, the interests of the meddlers are advanced. After all, such incursions cannot be looked upon as altruism. A leader's first interest is to his nation.
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