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| Georgia: Abkhazia Tensions Still High After EU, U.S. Visits |
| 2008-05-15 |
| Relations between Tbilisi and Moscow remain tense over Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia following a visit to Georgia by a European Union delegation and a top Washington envoy. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza traveled to the Abkhaz capital of Sukhumi over the weekend in a bid to break the deadlock. He held talks with Sergei Shamba, the de facto foreign minister of Abkhazia's self-proclaimed government. Shamba told RFE/RL's Georgian Service on May 13 that Abkhazia's conditions for dialogue with Tbilisi are unchanged. "The Americans and we believe that there is a chance to resume the dialogue," he said. "It is our position that Georgia must comply with the signed agreement, which means first and foremost that Georgia must withdraw troops from the Kodori Gorge and end provocative actions." Shamba stressed that peace talks were excluded as long as Tbilisi refuses to pull troops out of the Kodori Gorge, which serves as the de facto border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. "There can be no compromise here. We have signed more than one document saying the Kodori Gorge must be demilitarized," Shamba said. Officials in Georgia showed equally little willingness to compromise. Nikoloz Rurua, a powerful ally of Saakashvili and the deputy chairman of the Georgian parliament's Committee for Defense and Security, said that Georgia cannot be guided by Abkhazia's "world view and their judgment criteria, because they are an illegal entity and therefore most of their demands, unfortunately, are irrational. Therefore we cannot follow their logic." "These groundless demands have one aim," Rurua continued. "As long as these kinds of demands are put forward by separatist groups, a real, rational dialogue with the potential of mutual compromise will never take place." Speaking to a delegation of EU ministers in Tbilisi on May 12, Saakashvili condemned European nations for failing to oppose the Soviet Union's absorption of Georgia in 1921 and called on Europe not to "repeat this mistake." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Lest we fergit, NET > RUSSIA could become a MAJORITY MUSLIM STATE 2030-2050 = 2050??? ION WAFF.com > AZERIS [pro-Iran/Iranian-controlled?] SPONSORING TERRORISM [espec agz Armenia]. OSAMA BIN LADEN claimed to had visited BAKU 86 times in last ten years [1998-2008?]??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-05-15 00:23 |