Georgia needs to recognize Abkhazia’s sovereignty and sign a legally binding document on the non-use of force to start building any kind of relationship. This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, commenting on the statements of the general secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze.
Kaladze said earlier that the Georgian authorities positively assess the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia will contribute to Georgia’s reconciliation with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but it would be good to move beyond the words about readiness to help in reconciliation to effective words. In particular, he proposed to start developing a plan for the withdrawal of Russian military personnel from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“I would like to remind Georgian politicians that Georgia itself should regulate relations with Russia, because, as you know, there are currently no diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia. Therefore, instead of speculating in the electoral race on false stereotypes about the “territorial integrity of Georgia” and other mythical terms, Georgian politicians should start by establishing diplomatic relations with Russia.” — they responded in Sukhum to Kaladze’s words.
Regarding relations between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, as highlighted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Abkhazia and the Russian Federation are strategic allies, interstate relations between Abkhazia and Russia are based on mutually interstate treaties and agreements beneficial, including those defining the presence of a Russian military base in Abkhazia and the joint security of the state border of the Republic of Abkhazia.”
“Our position has not changed: Georgia must recognize the Republic of Abkhazia as a sovereign and independent state and sign a legally binding document on the non-use of force.” – reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia also stated that Russia’s position on South Ossetia has not changed since August 2008.
“Russian partners are doing everything possible to promote the negotiation process in the format of the Geneva discussions and the achievement of agreements between Georgia and South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including in terms of signing a document on non-use of strength”, – noted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia.
Regarding the possibility of establishing relations in the future with neighboring Georgia, the opinion of South Ossetia is known and reiterated: we start from the current status of a recognized state, Tskhinvali emphasized.
