Expert: Russia to do everything to ensure that independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognized by at least 50 countries

Россия сделает все, чтобы независимость Абхазии и Южной Осетии признали по крайней мере 50 стран: эксперт

Head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov has statemed that Russian recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will depend on Georgia's next steps. Saakashvili was most recently warned not to cooperate with NATO; however, the Georgian leadership will most likely not change its politics. Ara Papyan, former Armenian Ambassador to Canada and director of the analytical center Modus Vivendi, stated the following in a conversation with an IA Regnum correspondent: "Russia will do everything so that the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is recognized by around 50 countries, at least as many as for Kosovo," he emphasized.

Papyan expressed the opinion that Armenia should hold a neutral position concerning the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, noting that the validity of the independence of Karabakh depends not only on the principle of a nation's right to self-determination, but also on the decision that was made by the League of Nations to demarcate the Armenian-Azerbaijan border along ethnic lines. The expert also emphasized that, in any case, the precedent of an independent Abkhazia and South Ossetia will help solve the Karabakh conflict.

The expert stated that the annexation of Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia by either Azerbaijan or Georgia made them "captured territories" in violation of international law. He also noted that the Soviet states were never recogized individually by the international community and that the USSR itself wasn't recognized until 1924. Therefore, in the opinion of this political scientist, the annexation of Karabakh by Azerbaijan and Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Georgia is in violation of international law. He also emphasized that the internal borders of the republics after the formation of the USSR did not create separate states, but simply marked administrative boundaries and hence are not subject to international law.

IA Regnum