Georgian MPs Slam Possible PACE Invitation for Secessionist Leaders

The Georgian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said it was against inviting Abkhaz and South Ossetian secessionist leaders to a PACE session.

The initiative of invitation, according to Georgian TV reports on January 23, came from the Armenian delegation and was supported by Russia. Russia has been trying, unsuccessfully, to give the secessionist regimes voice at international fora, in particular the UN Security Council. 

Tbilisi-based Mze TV reported on January 23 that Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, ?wants to see invitations extended to the de facto leaders, because hearing from them in person would allow for better understanding.?

Davis, speaking with Georgian journalists in Strasbourg on the sidelines of the PACE winter session, was also quoted, at least according to the translation, as saying that ?all forms of dialogue should be used to resolve these conflicts”. He said “details [of the possible invitation for the secessionists leaders to speak] still need to be agreed.? 

?Inviting them [secessionist leaders] here is ludicrous,? Levan Berdzenishvili, a lawmaker from the opposition Republican Party and a member of Georgia?s delegation to PACE, said. ?The Armenian delegation’s initative is not correct. It should not happen without the consent of the Georgian authorities. There is no disagreement between the [Georgian] opposition and the authorities on this issue.?

?This is not the first time something like this has happened,? MP Nino Nakashidze, a lawmaker from the ruling party and a member of the Georgian delegation to PACE, said. ?Such initiatives are merely stunts.?

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