‘Georgia should not Recognize Kosovo’ – Opposition Leader

Georgian recognition of Kosovo’s independence would be “disastrous for Georgia,” Levan Gachechiladze, a former presidential candidate of the nine-party opposition coalition, said.

“We should not do that,” he told the Georgian Public Broadcaster late on February 15.

Meanwhile, the opposition Labor Party on February 16 called for cross-party condemnation of the planned declaration of independence by Kosovo.

“Today there is no bigger problem for Georgia than the possible recognition of Kosovo,” Kakha Dzagania of the Labor Party said at a news conference on February 16. “That may become a precedent for the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. So we call on all opposition parties to sign a declaration [condemning possible Kosovar independence] proposed by the Labor Party.”

It is still unclear whether Tbilisi will recognise Kosovo’s independence. On February 9 President Saakashvili sidestepped the issue, refusing to give a direct answer when asked what his government’s response would be.

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