Putin Statement Encourages Secessionists in Abkhazia, South Ossetia

Observers and officials in South Ossetia and Abkhazia hailed President Vladimir Putin’s statement, made during the December 23 press-coference, where he compared the situation in Georgia’s secessionist provinces to the situation in Kosovo.

“Why should we pretend not to notice the processes going on in the world and in Europe?  Yugoslavia has disintegrated and the entire world has recognised the new independent states.  Everyone repeatedly said no to Kosovo?s independence, Kosovo will never be independent and should remain part of Yugoslavia.  But what is going on in practice? Kosovo has in fact seceded and everybody pretends that they do not see this and have heard nothing about this,” Putin said.

In response, Foreign Minister of South Ossetia, Murad Jioev, said that “South Ossetia was never a part of Georgia,” making an explicit reference to Putin’s remarks, and argued that the independent states of Georgia and South Ossetia emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  Jioev added that with this in mind, South Ossetia “certainly respects the territorial integrity of neighboring Georgia.”

Former Abkhaz presidential candidate Stanislav Lakoba characterized Putin’s statement as a “great breakthrough” for Abkhazia.  He said this statement definitely implied eventual independence for “other unrecognized states as well.”