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International Crisis Group: No chance of international recognition of Abkhazia

01 March 2010 09:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanova â€“ APA. â€œIn the eighteen months since Russia recognized it as independent from Georgia, small but strategic Abkhazia has become increasingly dependent on its giant patronâ€, said the International Crisis Group in its latest report â€œAbkhazia: Deepening Dependenceâ€, APA reports. â€œAbkhaziaâ€™s international status is far from settledâ€, says Lawrence Scott Sheets, Crisis Groupâ€™s Caucasus Project Director. â€œAll except four countries in the world regard it as part of Georgia, and there is no chance of European Union member-state or other major international recognitionâ€.
â€œMost recently Russia signed with the Abkhaz a new agreement to build a joint military base in the entity. To meet its international commitments, Russia should fully implement the terms of the ceasefire agreements and cut back its military presence to what it was before the warâ€, the Group said in its report. â€œIt is in the interests of all sides to agree to disagree about status topics that can only be resolved over a long time. Abkhazia and Georgia should focus instead on creating economic and humanitarian links without legalistic preconditions. That would benefit both, build stability and give momentum to what must be a lengthy reconciliation process. Georgia should stick to its commitment of not seeking the isolation of Abkhazia. The EU and UN should continue to implement humanitarian, confidence-building, economic integration and democracy building projects in Abkhazia, as well as finalize agreements with Tbilisi and Sukhumi to make quicker decisions on project implementationâ€.