Russian Duma to Warn Georgia Against NATO

Russia’s lower house of Parliament is expected to pass a resolution on March 21 calling on the Kremlin to consider recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia if Georgia joins NATO, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday.

The draft resolution by Russia’s State Duma, which is nonbinding, reads that the Russian authorities should “consider the possibility of speeding up the objective process of Abkhazia and South Ossetia acquiring sovereignty, up to the recognition of their independence.”

“The current course of the Georgian authorities directed towards full integration into NATO deprives Georgia of a chance to consolidate the [secessionist] territories and the peoples residing there,” the draft reads, according to RIA Novosti news agency.
The draft says that the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo meant “the Russian Federation deemed it necessary to revise its policy towards Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestria.”

Although the draft resolution says that “the Russian State Duma respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and Moldova within the internationally recognized borders,” it also notes that “Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestria, which, during the years of their de facto independence, have built democratic states with all necessary attributes of governance, have much more ground to strive for international recognition than Kosovo.”

The document also instructs the Russian government to reinforce Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflict zones, and “to take other measures to provide peace and security in these regions.”

“The withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers may trigger catastrophic consequences for the peaceful population and destabilize the situation,” the draft resolution reads. 

“We are concerned about the fate of the South Ossetian and Abkhaz peoples,” Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the State Duma, told journalists on March 20. “We understand that Georgia is involved in the process of integration into NATO. And this of course is a source of concern for us.” He added that it was Georgia’s right to decide its foreign policy priorities, but if Georgia joined NATO “naturally we should take appropriate measures.”
 
Abkhaz and South Ossetian officials at the March 13 hearings in the State Duma said they wanted the Russian lawmakers to call for an immediate recognition of the regions’ independence.