From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 3/4/2006 2:47 PM
Abkhaz Leader Presses Independence Claim
Kosovo talks and Russian support bolster the claims of breakaway Abkhazia.
By Thomas de Waal in Sukhumi
The precedent of the possible international recognition of Kosovo strengthens Abkhazia’s claim to independence from Georgia, the leader of Abkhazia has told IWPR in an interview.
Sergei Bagapsh, de facto president of Abkhazia, argued his republic had a better historical claim to full independence than Kosovo, whose status is now under negotiation in UN-sponsored talks that began last month. Observers generally expect that this will eventually lead to Kosovo becoming independent.
Bagapsh said, “If the issue of Kosovo is settled [in favour of independence], let’s say, and not the issue of Abkhazia, that is a policy purely of double standards.”
Speaking to IWPR in his presidential office, Bagapsh made the argument ...
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