Russian recognition of Georgian provinces prompts widespread condemnation

27/08/2008

Condemning Russia's recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, international organisations and individual governments, including in the Balkans, reiterated on Tuesday their support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(Various sources -- 26/08/08 - 27/08/08)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees Tuesday (August 26th). recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two breakaway regions of neighbouring Georgia. [Getty Images]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to recognise the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia drew widespread condemnation Tuesday (August 26th).

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer rejected the move as a "direct violation" of numerous UN Security Council resolutions on Georgia's territorial integrity that Russia itself has endorsed. He also questioned Moscow's commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus.

Echoing his words, EU leaders also "strongly condemned" Medvedev's decision. German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling it "unacceptable".

France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, stressed that Moscow's move contradicts "the principles of the independence, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Georgia" and called for a political solution.

EU leaders will discuss the situation in Georgia at an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Monday, called by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The OSCE described Tuesday's decision as a violation of the principles of the 56-nation organisation, of which Russia is also a member.

Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, the pan-European security body's current chairman-in-office, called for the immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops from Georgia, in line with the conditions of the cease-fire agreement it signed on August 12th.

While Russia has pulled the bulk of its forces from Georgia proper in recent days, it is still keeping hundreds of troops in a large buffer zone around Abkhazia and South Ossetia and at the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti.

"The international community cannot accept unilaterally established buffer zones," Stubb said. Moscow's decision sparked criticism from its Soviet-era satellites and current EU and NATO members in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

"This regrettable unilateral act, devoid of legal basis, could have a stronger impact on the situation in the area, as well as the outlook for the durable regulation of conflicts in the region," the Romanian foreign ministry warned.

Voicing "serious concern" over Russia's move, Bulgaria reiterated "its unconditional support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia in its internationally recognised borders" and joined calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia.

EU candidates Croatia and Turkey also expressed their support for Georgia's position, as well as concern about the impact of Moscow's decision on the Caucasus.

The "fait accompli policy could create an impression that the move was aimed at avoiding talks on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia" to which Medvedev earlier agreed, Croatian President Stipe Mesic said.

"Turkey is of the opinion that this conflict should be resolved through peaceful means," the Turkish foreign ministry declared.

On the other hand, Russian ally Serbia noted on Tuesday that it had warned that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence and "the recognition of this illegal act" could set a precedent for similar acts elsewhere in the world.