On April 3-4 the Foreign Ministers of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Transdnestria, as well as a representative of the unrecognized South Ossetian Republic in Russia met in Moscow to finalize a cooperation agreement between the three separatist regions, which is scheduled to be signed by the leaders of these regions in late April.
Details of this cooperation agreement remain unknown and the venue for the upcoming summit of separatist leaders has not been announced; however, Foreign Minister of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdnestria Valery Litskay said at a joint news conference in Moscow on April 4 that the agreement “will reflect new geopolitical realities.” He did not elaborate, but later both the Foreign Ministers of Abkhazia and Transdnestria and the South Ossetian envoy hinted that this meeting between the separatist leaders may coincide with a summit of Presidents of the GUAM member states – Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, also scheduled for late April in Chisinau, Moldova.
Officials from the breakaway regions also indicated that this cooperation agreement will include military aspects as well. “We have discussed the issue of a possible union in the military sphere,” Sergey Shamba, the Abkhaz Foreign Minister, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
He added that Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestria will use “all available resources to render assistance to each other.”
“During the talks in Moscow we discussed possible measures which might be used in regard to the situation in South Ossetia,” Sergey Shamba stated.
“Aspects of mutual military assistance will be reflected in the package which is being prepared for the meeting bewteen the leaders of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestria,” Interfax quoted the representatives of the breakaway South Ossetian republic in Russia Dimitry Medoev.
Separatist officials also reiterated the vital role Russia plays in resolving conflicts. “Moscow is a guarantor, mediator and peacekeeper. Only Russia has expressed not only interest, but an ability to act and to stop war as well,” Valery Litskay, the Foreign Minister of breakaway Transdnestria, said.
The representative of breakaway South Ossetia described Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s refusal to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin or the leaders of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia – Sergey Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoity – in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi as “the unwillingness of the Georgian side to hold a dialogue with the parties concerned.”
“Unfortunately, we frequently observe this tendency – when the Georgian side rejects a peaceful resolution of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict,” Medoev said.
President Saakashvili confirmed in an interview with Rustavi 2 television on April 3 that he rejected Moscow’s proposal to meet with Putin, Bagapsh and Kokoity in Sochi. “This kind of meeting will make sense only in the event that the meeting is well-prepared in advance. All meetings should have results,” Saakashvili said.
However, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergey Bagapsh said that a possible meeting between the leaders of Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazis and Russia is still on the agenda. “The Georgian President refused to participate in these talks in this format… But this meeting still remains under consideration,” he added.
