Head of Georgian Orthodox Church Slams Russia’s Rhetoric

Ilia II, the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, said Russian “threats” to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia after Kosovo’s independence were “unacceptable.”

In a sermon on February 17, Ilia II said: “Russia threatens to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali [the capital of breakaway South Ossetia]  I want to say that although Georgian public opinion very often is diverse, on this particular situation everyone, including the people, opposition and the authorities, are united and have one opinion: Georgia has been and should remain a unified state. I have told representatives of the Russian authorities several times that separatism is like a transmittable disease and everyone should remember this, including Russia. I highly respect Russian culture, science, its history and philosophy, but we should say the truth that this kind of rhetoric towards Georgia is unacceptable.”

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