Saakashvili Lambastes Russia over Abkhazia

President Saakashvili said because of “sick and incomprehensible logic” of Russia it tried to bloc UN General Assembly resolution recognizing right of refugees and internally displaced person to return back to Abkhazia.

Speaking at a government session late on May 16, held in Zugdidi close to the Abkhaz administrative border and aired live by Georgian television, Saakashvili claimed that Russian Foreign Minster, Sergey Lavrov, phoned his counterparts from over 30 countries trying to convince them to vote against the resolution.

“It is absolutely incomprehensible why Russia should be angry about this resolution,” Saakashvili said. “The resolution does not even mention Russia; it only notes that people have been expelled from their homes… and that their property rights should be protected.”

“Why should Sergey Lavrov have to phone over thirty foreign ministers of various countries? Does not Russia have any other work to do except of trying to bloc rights of Georgian internally displaced persons and to prevent them from returning back to their homes? And if Mr. Lavrov will have a bad sleep if IDPs return, it is totally incomprehensible and it is demonstration of unreasonable and sick logic. I do not understand why this should be a matter of dispute with Russia.”

UN General Assembly passed Georgian-sponsored resolution on May 15 recognizing “the right of all refugees and internally displaced persons and their descendants, regardless of ethnicity” to return to Abkhazia. The resolution also emphasized the importance of preserving the property rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, “including victims of reported “ethnic cleansing.”

Saakashvili said that the resolution was historic. He also said that it took the UN fifteen years to fairly assess the situation.

“I reiterate our peaceful intentions and at the same time I want to give an instruction to the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – do not allow even single illegal investment in Abkhazia, Georgia; do not allow selling of even single house in Georgia’s Abkhazia, because these are land and houses of our citizens, which should be returned to their legal owners and this is our legal demand now already based on the UN documents,” Saakashvili said.

The UN General Assembly adopted resolution with a small margin of 14 votes in favour to 11 against; 105 abstained.

Apart of Georgia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine and United States voted in favor of the resolution.

Armenia, Belarus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Serbia, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela voted against.