Peruvian opposition urges recognition of S.Ossetia, Abkhazia

November 19 - Peru's opposition party has submitted a proposal to the Peruvian Congress to recognize the former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent, the party leader has said.

Ollanta Humala told RIA Novosti on Wednesday that his Peruvian Nationalist Party, the country's second largest political group, submitted the proposal last week. It is currently holding talks with various political forces and parliamentary blocs to win their support.

"Peru is one of the countries that have officially recognized Kosovo as independent, and we believe Abkhazia and South Ossetia also deserve official recognition as two new republics," Humala said.

He said he could see no obstacles to the government's recognition of the republics.

"Now that it has recognized Kosovo [on February 25, 2008], it will not have weighty arguments against the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," Humala said.

Humala enjoys political popularity in Peru for his nationalist, anti-imperialist and anti-American ideas. He garnered 44.56% of the votes in the presidential polls in 2006.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia have so far been recognized by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Though the two asked Belarus to recognize their independence last year, Minsk has so far refused to join its neighbor, Russia in recognizing the republics.

Moscow recognized the two republics shortly after a five-day war with Georgia in August 2008 that began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.

• Ria Novosti

Tagliavini Commission's Conclusions Have Taught The European Union A Lesson - EU Special Representative

November 10, 2009 - The report of the Tagliavini Fact-Finding Commission on the conflict in Georgia “has taught the European Union a lesson", the EU special representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby believes.

In his opinion, "the main service of the report is that it allows us to look in the future, not the past now". "This report has given a clearer conception of what has happened. And it makes the discussions and negotiations held in Geneva easier because some problems that have complicated the negotiations until now, disappeared. Besides, this report is important as it gives us a lesson for the future - how to avoid a similar situation", Semneby emphasized in an interview to the “Kommersant” published today.

The EU special representative stressed the results of the international investigation of the August, 2008 conflict had taught the European Union a lesson too. "The EU underestimated the risks, and we could, probably, do more for the conflict prevention. Perhaps, if we had had a more considerable presence in the region before the war, it would have played the role", he emphasized.

According to the results of the international investigation under the direction of Heidi Tagliavini published on September 30 in Brussels, the war in South Ossetia in 2008 was launched by Georgia. At the same time the report accuses Russia of giving out passports to the residents of South Ossetia, use of "excessive force" for the response to the Georgian aggression, as well as conflict escalation to the territory of Georgia beyond the bounds of South Ossetia.

• Abkhazia Gov.

Minsk to send commission on recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Caucasus region

MINSK, November 5 - Belarus plans to send a parliamentary commission to South Ossetia and Abkhazia to estimate a possibility of recognition of the two republics.

RIA Novosti informs about this referring to Syarhei Maskevich, the chairman of the International Affairs and CIS Relations Commission of the “house of representatives” of the “national assembly” of Belarus.

According to him, the commission consisting of ten MPs is to visit Tskhinval and Sukhum as well as Tbilisi.

As Maskevich explained, the Belarusian MPs and senators would study the situation to decide on whether Abkhazia and South Ossetia should be recognized.

The MPs would like to talk with the leadership of the republics and with ordinary people.

The Belarusian “parliament” is expected to study this opportunity next week.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka said earlier that “for moral reason”, Belarus should have supported Russia in recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia long ago, but couldn’t do this due to the pressure of the Russia media.

According to the president, some forces in Russia wanted Belarus to bow. “The mass media started a real targeting of us,” the Belarusian leader said on October 2.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been recognized only by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Abkhazia: Finding the Balance in New Relationships

Abkhazia tries to find new balance between independence and strategic cooperation with Russia as its democracy matures.

Below is article published by RIA Novosti - 2 Nov. 2009

The upcoming December 12 [2009] presidential elections in Abkhazia are fundamentally different from the previous three - the campaign will be the first since the beginning of the process of recognition of Abkhazian independence, writes political analyst Sergei Markedonov.

Regardless of the new South Caucasian status quo, the elections will seriously test the intentions of the partially recognized republic's elite to build up its statehood in line with its real potential.

With Moscow's recognition of its independence in August last year [2008], Abkhazia crossed an extremely important boundary.

Georgian claims to "restore territorial integrity" have ceased to be an important political issue for the Abkhazian elite. The national elite now aims to fill Abkhazian independence with genuine substance and higher quality. In the final analysis, the struggle against the "little empire" was not launched in the 1990s to replace one patron with another.

Abkhazia possesses the necessary potential. Unlike South Ossetia, the republic has a state project, rather than just "aspirations for unification." Abkhazia boasts a far more intricate domestic political space and an opposition (inside the republic, rather than in Moscow), an independent media, five years' experience of normal co-existence between those winning and losing presidential elections, and a diversified foreign policy.

However, Abkhazia's one-sided political dependence on Russia has increased. Russia is no longer a peacekeeper, but rather a guarantor of national self-determination and the main contributor of funding to the republic's budget.

It would be appropriate to note that the new "guarantor" does not favor democracy, political competition or unauthorized contacts with the outside world very much.

Markedonov concludes that the Abkhazian elite will have to solve an extremely difficult puzzle: how to assert its independence while maintaining strategic cooperation with Moscow.

• What the Russian papers say - Ria Novosti
• Related
• Abkhaz presidential candidates to be tested for state language knowledge
• Abkhazia: Bagapsh to run for presidency
• 1992-1993 Patriotic War of the people of Abkhazia Veterans call the people of Abkhazia to remain united regardless of upcoming presidential elections results

Recognition of Independence

October 30, 2009 - SUKHUM, ABKHAZIA - Abkhazia intends to make an official request to Ecuador to recognize its independence, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic Sergey Shamba said. “It will happen in the nearest future as soon as the President of Ecuador Rafael Correa returns to the country, he will meet with the representative of Abkhazia who will hand him over a request from the President of our state Sergey Bagapsh to consider the question of the recognition of independence of Abkhazia”, the head of the state’s foreign policy department said.

The President of Ecuador said in an interview on Friday “if both the republics produce an official request to Ecuador for their recognition, we will consider this request most seriously”.

• Abkhazia Gov.
• Related
• Ecuador ready to consider recognition of Abkhazia, S-Ossetia – president