And testing breakaway signpost pillars.

But isn't the breakaway of yesterday the convention of today?

There's oil spills, environmental disasters, water rights disputes, breakaway republics, famine, endangered species and global warming.

In the case of JEM, breakaway groups called into question the legitimacy of its representatives in Abuja.

An international assessment of the huge stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in the breakaway region was imperative.

Abasa, Anadde, Parena and the breakaway Union pour le progrès national (UPRONA) faction of Mr. Mukasi did not send delegates.

26. Intimidation based on political opinion remains frequent in the Bihac region of north west Bosnia and Herzegovina, where past supporters of the breakaway Abdic regime have been victims.

The IDPs had fled instability in Shilluk Kingdom, which started in 2003 when Dr. Lam Akol, head of the Government allied SPLM United (a SPLM breakaway faction), defected to the SPLM A.

So far, only Russia and Nicaragua recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russian recognition was widely seen as retaliation for Western recognition of Kosovo (population two million), the breakaway province of Serbia, earlier last year.

Romania fears the fallout from Kosovo s unilaterally gaining independence on neighboring Moldova. The worry is that Russia will unilaterally recognize the breakaway Moldovan territory of Transdnistria, which Russian troops and criminal gangs have been propping up for 16 years.

119. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that the Region apos s future remains uncertain, especially for displaced Serbs living there and for those who played any significant role in the breakaway regime of the so called Republic of Serb Krajina .

Look at Putin s attempt to rig Ukraine s previous presidential election, and the on again off again criminal charges brought against the opposition leader Yuliya Tymoshenko. Look at the rogue breakaway regions in Moldova and Georgia that exist only because of the Kremlin s backing.

After Russia sent troops into Georgia in August 2008, it recognized the independence of two breakaway Georgian provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. When few other states followed its example, Russia pointed out that the NATO countries had used force to help Kosovo separate from Serbia.

In August 1995, about 25,000 Bosnian Muslim refugees loyal to the breakaway regime of Fikret Abdic had fled from the Velika Kladusa area of Bihac, in the north west of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Croatia, when the Bosnian government forces recovered control over the region.

But the biggest risks posed by unilateral recognition of Kosovo s independence are in the South Caucasus, a region that abuts the tinderbox of today s Middle East. Here, there is a real danger that Russia may recognize breakaway regions in the South Caucasus, and back them more strongly than it does now.

He cited the threat of unilateral breakaway from Canada of the Province of Quebec and its effects on existing constitutional, citizenship and treaty rights, and the consequent denial of the right to self determination as an example which demonstrated the need for the full exercise of self determination by indigenous peoples.

Recently, the OSCE Foreign Ministers called for reinvigorated talks seeking to consolidate the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, while reaching an understanding on the status of the breakaway region. The OSCE also expressed concern at the lack of progress on the withdrawal of foreign troops from the region.

Even before Vladimir Putin became Russia s president, the Kremlin was making mischief in Georgia, issuing Russian passports to citizens of Abkhazia (the largest breakaway region) and pouring money into its economy. Russia s supposed peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia s other secession minded region, have in fact protected their rebel governments.

Should Russia recognize Abkhazia s independence, Saakashvili might be tempted to respond militarily to prevent his country from unraveling. Renewed conflict in Abkhazia would not only bring the risk of open warfare with Russia, but strain relations with Armenia, as there are near to 50,000 Armenians in Abkhazia who support the breakaway government.

At an emergency meeting on September 1, EU leaders refused to continue the PCA talks until Russia removed its combat units from the Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The heads of the 27 EU governments also characterized the Kremlin s decision to recognize the independence of the two breakaway regions as unacceptable.

This is one reason why Russia has become so aggressive with its neighbors, Ukraine and Georgia, and seeks to maintain a military presence in places like Transdniestria, the breakaway region of Moldova. By throwing its weight around in Russia s near abroad, the Kremlin thinks that it can convince Russians back home of its omnipotence.

The heads of the 27 EU governments also characterized the Kremlin s decision to recognize the independence of the two breakaway regions as unacceptable. Since then, EU governments have moderated their conditions, describing a simple Russian military withdrawal from Georgian territories outside the two regions as sufficient to resume a dialogue on the PCA, energy security, and other issues.

Previously, Russia s admission to the WTO had been blocked by Georgia, which lifted its veto last year after a feat of elegant diplomacy that established a border control mechanism without recognizing the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia either as part of Georgia or as independent countries. That solution, while complicated, is a good outcome for the region.

The security interests of Georgia and the EU coincide least when it comes to the so called frozen conflicts in the Kremlin backed breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia it is no accident that Promoting Peaceful Resolution of Internal Conflicts ranks only sixth among the ENP Action Plan s priorities. Georgia wants a reluctant EU to be more engaged, but each side understands engagement differently.

We have also re launched settlement talks concerning the breakaway region of Transdniestria, where the only viable basis for a solution is to make Moldova ever more economically and politically attractive to the region s residents. From this perspective, every step that brings us closer to the EU is also a step towards resolving this so called frozen conflict perhaps the only European secessionist conflict that can be solved through EU soft power alone.