The small smuggling mob that is the population of South Ossetia is one thing, while the nationalists of Abkhazia are entirely different ... and they don't very much like the idea of getting annexed by Russia. The other day Reuters had an interesting feature piece on the tensions of dependency between Abkhazia and Russia, and today in the Guardian, Jonathan Steele has an interesting quote from Tom de Waal:
Can nothing be done to improve matters?Tom de Waal, a respected analyst of the Caucasus, argues that the west should open links to Abkhazia without recognising its independence by taking "status-neutral" measures like supporting a direct shipping route between Abkhazia and Turkey, and getting Georgia to support it. This would not help Georgia recover Abkhazia, but it would lessen Abkhaz ties to Russia.
In an interview to RIA Novosti, Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei
Shamba discusses the role of the United States in the war in South
Ossetia, the effectiveness of a European Union peacekeeping mission in
Georgia, and whose laws Belarusian citizens should respect in Sukhumi.
Question:
Last week, there were reports that American observers might join the EU
mission in Georgia. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Peter Semneby followed up by saying that a discussion could be held in
the fall. What is your attitude to this idea?
Answer:
Our attitude is distinctly negative. First, because the idea does not
stem from the mission’s mandate worded in keeping with the agreements
reached by the Russian and French presidents – the mandate provides for
... >>full artcle...
Abkhazia ready to develop relations with Nicaragua
1.8.2009
“We have been ready for a long time to start working actively to develop relations with Nicaragua and to establish diplomatic relations between our countries”, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Maxim Gvindzhiya said commenting on the statement of the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua Samuel Santos.“For us Nicaragua will always be a friendly country. We express gratitude to the people and the leadership of Nicaragua, who recognized our independence following Russia”, Gvindzhiya said. “We will engage in establishing fruitful and long-term mutually advantageous relations with this state”. Deputy Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Maxim Gvindzhiya abkhaziagov.org
Abkhazia Seeks To Continue Cooperation With EU, UN
Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba met separately on July 29 in
Sukhumi with the EU special representative for the South Caucasus,
Ambassador Peter Semneby, and with Johan Verbeke, who headed the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), the mandate of which expired earlier this month.
Semneby
was quoted as recalling that one year ago, the EU planned to appoint a
representative to liaise with the Abkhaz authorities, but that "for
understandable reasons," meaning the August war between Georgia and
Russia over South Ossetia, those plans were not implemented.
Semneby
said the withdrawal of the UN from Abkhazia creates a further obstacle
to EU cooperation with Abkhazia, but that the EU nonetheless still
...
Georgian, Abkhaz, Russian, EU, and UN representatives took part in a
meeting on July 28 in the UN Human Rights Office in Abkhazia's
southernmost Gali Raion to discuss the security situation on both sides
of the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia.
Such
regular discussions were envisaged under the agreements signed in
August and September 2008 that ended the five-day war between Russia
and Georgia, but the format and modalities were agreed only at talks in
Geneva last month; the first talks focusing on security issues took
place on July 14.
Prior to the July 28 meeting, Abkhaz Deputy
Foreign Minister Maksim Gvindjia said the Abkhaz side intended to focus
...
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