From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 10/13/2006 1:37 PM Georgia’s Separatists to Ask Russia for Recognition
13.10.2006
MosNews One of Georgia’s two Moscow-backed separatist regions has said it will appeal to Russia’s parliament to recognize its independence, The Associated Press reported.
The legislature in the breakaway region of Abkhazia is working on an appeal to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, Abkhazia’s leader Sergei Bagapsh said Thursday. The appeal seemed designed to deepen the pressure on Georgia’s government as it navigates a worsening dispute with Moscow that has included a Russian blockade on the country.
Abkhazia is a Black Sea province that has run its own affairs since breaking away from government control in a war in the early 1990s, and is one of two Georgian regions seeking independence or union with Russia.
Russia has granted citizenship to most residents of Abkhazia and the other separatist region, South Ossetia, and it sides with the regions in their constant disputes with Georgia. But Russia has made no move to formally recognize their sovereignty. Doing so would be certain to draw an international outcry.
Russian officials have warned the West, however, that independence for Kosovo — currently under discussion in U.N.-mediated talks — would lend legitimacy to the Georgian regions’ sovereignty claims.
The Duma, dominated by Russia’s main Kremlin-controlled party, is less bound by pragmatic concerns than the government, and the outcome of a potential vote on the issue is uncertain. But the Interfax news agency quoted the head of the constitutional legislative committee in parliament’s upper house as saying the issue was not within the Duma’s competence.
Abkhazia’s push for Russian recognition comes amid deeply strained relations between Russia and Georgia, whose leadership has angered Moscow by seeking to shed its influence and pursue closer ties with the West.
Tension has heightened sharply since the former Soviet nation arrested Russia officers on espionage charges last month. Despite their swift release, Moscow retaliated with sanctions against its small, southern neighbor including a transport blockade.
Georgia accuses Russia of backing the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in a bid to maintain its influence and undermine the government of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who has pledged to rein in the breakaway regions.
Skirmishes and shooting between Georgian and South Ossetian forces have added to the tension.
Georgia’s Education Ministry said Thursday that a 14-year-old boy who was on a school playing field in a Georgian village in South Ossetia was wounded when a post manned by Georgian peacekeeping forces nearby came under fire from identified gunmen Wednesday.
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