-- Russia is using the Kosovo conflict as a justification for saying it may recognize S. Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. However, Russia never recognized Kosovo's independence and was strongly against it.
-- If Russia cares so much about independence for Georgia's breakaway regions, then why hasn't Russia awarded independence to N. Ossetia, which is under its control?
-- If all breakaway republics deserve independence, then why did Russia sacrifice tens of thousands of soldiers' and civilians' lives in two bloody wars to keep Chechnya within its borders?
-- Everyone keeps saying most S. Ossetians are "Russians" but they're not. Russia simply gave them Russian passports. Did that change their ethnicity, or did it just provide an excuse for invasion?
