TBILISI, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Thursday that a referendum on independence in Montenegro should not be taken as an example for Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The Montenegro elections commission said earlier that a referendum May 21 produced 55.5% (with 55% required) of votes in favor of Montenegro seceding from its union with Serbia.
"We should not attempt to open Pandora's box, because if we follow this train of thought, we can claim that Tatarstan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Basque country, Corsica and many other world regions also have the right for independence," Saakashvili said.
"Yugoslavia is a different matter," he added. "It had a different historical background. The decision on separation of former Yugoslavia involved the UN, NATO and the whole international community. In our [Georgia's ] case, there is a certain group of Russian politicians who are pushing for independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and with all respect to these politicians I do not think their power and influence can be compared with the influence of the forces that decided the fate of Yugoslavia."
