Lavrov Lambasts Saakashvili’s UN Speech

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for “distorting facts” in his speech to the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22.
 
Saakashvili accused Russia of annexing Georgian territories and said that Russian-led peacekeeping operations in the conflict zones hinder the peace process.

“I have read the speech and, frankly speaking, I was shocked by the huge number of distorted facts in his [Saakashvili’s] speech. For example, he said that because of the peacekeepers’ actions the internally displaced persons [IDPs] cannot return to Abkhazia, particularly to the Gali district, while about 60 000 people have already returned,” Lavrov told reporters on September 22.

He also said that UN Security Council resolutions regularly note the positive role of Russian peacekeeping forces in the Abkhaz conflict zone.

Lavrov also said that President Saakashvili’s calls for the demilitarization of the conflict zones sound strange while he is “importing into Georgia through various channels large amounts of weapons.”

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