RFE/RL: Another Senior Turkish Diplomat Visits Abkhazia
posted by circassiankama on April, 2010 as Abkhazia
Another Senior Turkish Diplomat Visits Abkhazia
News
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 07:13
RFE/RL, April 20 -- Nurdan Bayraktar
Golder, head of the South Caucasus department of the Turkish Foreign
Ministry, held talks in Sukhumi on April 19 with Sergei Shamba and
Maksim Gvinjia, de facto prime minister and foreign minister,
respectively, of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia.
While
Golder affirmed Ankara's willingness to expand ties with the breakaway
Georgian region, the two Abkhaz officials responded coolly, apparently
suspecting that she was acting as a stalking horse for the Georgian
government.
Apsny Press quoted Golder as telling Shamba that the
aim of her visit was to demonstrate how important Abkhazia is for
Turkey's foreign policy. She said that while Turkey does not recognize
Abkhazia as an independent state, it is determined to expand ties with
the region. She said Turkey's Abkhaz diaspora (estimated at some
500,000 people) could serve as a bridge in that respect. She also
affirmed Turkey's readiness to act as mediator between Sukhumi and
Tbilisi.
Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba
Turkey's ambassador to Tbilisi, Murat
Burhan, who accompanied Golder, recalled that since the visit to
Sukhumi last September by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Unal Cevikoz,
two working groups have been set up that have made "some progress"
toward creating ways to promote bilateral cooperation in business and
trade. He said Ankara "would like to discuss establishing direct trade
relations with Abkhazia."
Shamba responded less than
diplomatically, saying he had no interest in talking to Burhan as he
was not accredited to Sukhumi. He also rejected the offer of mediation,
saying Abkhazia would prefer direct talks with Georgia.
At the
same time, Shamba proposed that Turkey follow the example of the
European Union in pursuing cooperation with Abkhazia while withholding
formal diplomatic recognition.
Golder's talks with Gvinjia
focused on sea communications between Turkey and Abkhazia. Georgia has
repeatedly sought to detain Turkish vessels that enter the Abkhaz
sector of Georgia's territorial waters without obtaining prior
permission from the Georgian authorities. Georgia has recently lodged a
formal request with the International Maritime Organization to ask its
members not to enter Abkhaz ports without Georgian permission.
Gvinjia
told journalists that most of the Turkish proposals were based on the
"Strategy on the Occupied Territories" that Georgia unveiled in late
January, and for that reason he had no comment on them.
Acknowledgement: All available information and documents in "Justice For North Caucasus Group" is provided for the "fair use". There should be no intention for ill-usage of any sort of any published item for commercial purposes and in any way or form. JFNC is a nonprofit group and has no intentions for the distribution of information for commercial or advantageous gain. At the same time consideration is ascertained that all different visions, beliefs, presentations and opinions will be presented to visitors and readers of all message boards of this site. Providing, furnishing, posting and publishing the information of all sources is considered a right to freedom of opinion, speech, expression, and information while at the same time does not necessarily reflect, represent, constitute, or comprise the stand or the opinion of this group. If you have any concerns contact us directly at:
eagle@JusticeForNorthCaucasus.com