All for One and One for All: Diplomatic Recognition of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South-Ossetia

... Kosovo). Moscow should also be cautious when it comes to its bilateral relationship with Serbia. Belgrade is seeking support from Russia — and more recently from the People’s Republic of China — to counterbalance American and European soft power in Kosovo and does not support Moscow’s views regarding Abkhazia and South-Ossetia. Geopolitics versus International Law The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, signed in 1933, states: “the state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined ...