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De-facto independent countries to ask EU, UN for statehood recognition
Transdniestria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia will ask the European Union and the United Nations to formally recognize their 'de facto' independence. During a joint summit on the Black Sea coast, the presidents of the three new states also pledged to help each other resolve disputes peacefully and democratically. They warned that a departure of peacekeepers would lead to new conflicts.
In this broadcast by the RTTV satellite channel, the presidents of three unrecognized states are seen signing a joint agreementSUKHUMI (Tiraspol Times) - Three "de facto" independent countries — Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdniestria — are expected to ask the United Nations and the European Union for recognition of their statehood.
This was made clear during a meeting in Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, between the presidents of new and emerging states. In a joint statement, they also pledged to deal with any military threat jointly and accused Georgia of trying to discredit Russian peacekeepers and inflame tensions in the republics' conflict zones.
The joint statement came at a two-day summit of the three unrecognized states that opened on Sunday in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi, the international satellite channel RT-TV reported.
During the meeting, the leaders of the "de facto" independent states signed the fundamental agreement of a joint union and charter as well as a number of cooperation documents.
Later they are also expected to sign an appeal to the European Union and the United Nations to formally recognize their independence.
- Alliance for democracy and peoples’ rights
The commonwealth of self-proclaimed states (officially: Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations) was formed in June last year calling for democracy, and peoples’ rights. Besides sharing common political goals, member states of the commonwealth co-operate in economic affairs, culture and education.
" - The most important thing for us today is that we are strengthening the legal framework of our alliance for democracy and peoples’ rights. I am satisfied with the meeting’s results. Its task was to create conditions for the further prosperity of our republics and the earliest recognition of their independence," said South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity.
In the early 1990s, the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia, who responded by sending troops to these areas in an attempt to subdue to independence-minded population. War broke out, resulting in thousands of people dead.
An estimated three hundred thousand people fled the breakaway republics before Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeepers from the former Soviet republics managed to halt the war.
- Peacekeepers will stay
Today, peacekeepers are still stationed at the borders for the safety of the population. Georgia has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the peacekeepers. But since their mission is sanctioned by the UN Security Council and an agreement with the CIS, the troops remain.
" - The Republic of Abkhazia stands firm: we are categorically against the idea that the Russian peacekeepers should leave the conflict zone. Everybody must realize that their departure will inevitably lead to a new conflict," Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh said.
Transdniestria has no no conflict with Georgia, but suffered a similar war after Moldova sent troops to enforce its territorial claim on the republic. Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie) declared independence from the now-defunct Moldavian SSR in 1990, one year before the current Republic of Moldova was founded.
Two thirds of Transdniestria's population are ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, but its ethnic Moldovan minority - the remaining third - is also overwhelmingly in favor of independence and does not wish to join Moldova. In the summer of 1992, more than a thousand people died as a result of Moldovan attacks before the war was stopped with the intervention of peacekeepers.
" - We will defend our right to live on our land, a right to our language and our culture just as our ancestors did," said Transdniestria's President Igor Smirnov. "This is what the people of the Republic of Pridnestrovie said at the referendum on 17 September 2006." (With information from Russia Today)
See also:
» 3 new countries ask world for independence
» Presidents of 3 new states meet for int'l summit in November
» Can a country legally exist if it is "self-proclaimed"..?
A conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels concluded that unrecognized states like Pridnestrovie need a way to be heard by the world. "It is necessary to create and sustain permanent mechanisms of involvement and consultation of unrecognized state entities in the international community". This will benefit everyone, says the event's official statement. . . 
