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Sukhumi, the capital of the 'de facto' independent country Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast (file photo)

NEW YORK (Tiraspol Times) - In a fourteen minute videotaped statement distributed on DVD, Abkhazia's Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba appeals to the United Nations Security Council, urging the Council's members to seriously consider the independence aspirations of Abkhazia and fellow post-Soviet states Pridnestrovie (Transnistria) and South Ossetia.

" - All possibilities for a compromise have been exhausted. It is time that the Security Council and the international community objectively evaluated and considered the current situation. And the situation is such that for 14 years after the war we were building an independent and democratic state in difficult conditions and under different sanctions and embargoes and have greatly succeeded in this. Abkhazia is demonstrating a progressive movement on the path of building an independent and democratic state."

According to the Foreign Minister, in 1931 Abkhazia was forced into Georgia against the will of its people. This was done by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin - himself a Georgian. Shamba also said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the process of formation of independent states has not yet been completed.

" - The recognition of independence of Abkhazia and other republics such as South Ossetia and Transdniestria would be a logical conclusion of this process," said Shamba, referring to Pridnestrovie by one of the names which it is more commonly known under in English.

Status settlement talks going nowhere

According to Abkhazia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, "regrettably, the negotiation process has ended in a stalemate." This is Georgia's fault, because last summer, the Georgian side deployed armed forces in the Kodori Gorge in violation of all previous agreements that had been reached between the sides.

Shamba urged diplomatic realism and an acceptance of the fact that talks between the sides are going nowhere. During fourteen years of mediation, no solutions have been found regarding political settlement, return of refugees and economic recovery of the region.

He explained why Abkhazia finds it impossible to live in a joint union state with Georgia, pointing to a number of developments that can be characterized as a consistent policy of Georgian leaders aimed at actual genocide of the Abkhazian ethnos. Said Shamba: "It was a period when the Abkhazian people was denied its identity and being physically eliminated, a period of planned, thought-out and well-implemented attempts to assimilate the Abkhazian people."

US visa denial politically motivated

Abkhazia has officially been recognized as one of the parties to the conflict. It participated in a recent UN meeting in Geneva, on equal terms with Georgia. Yet when the time came to speak at the UN in New York, the host country - the United States - refused to grant a visa. No such problems were encountered in Switzerland.

At the United Nations it was well known that the US decision was politically motivated. Just a week earlier, the United States had welcomed the presence of Kosovo at the United Nations, despite the fact that Kosovo is less of self-governing entity than Abkhazia.

" - Accordingly, it would be logical to suggest that, if an appropriate and objective decision is to be taken, an impartial mediator should hear the views of both parties," said Abkhazia's Shamba in his videotaped statement, delivered in absentia. "Based on this understanding, we repeatedly called upon the UN Security Council to give us an opportunity to explain our views and our position to the Council members. Unfortunately, the UN Security Council has not yet found it possible to consult both parties, which makes us think that the UN has not become an equidistant party."

The DVD of Abkhazia's appeal has been distributed to all 192 member country missions of the United Nations.

See also:
» Unrecognized countries seek voice in conflict settlement talks [1]
» Abkhazia excluded from conflict talks; US pleased [2]
» US blocks Abkhazia from UN talks on its own future [3]

On the web:
» Abkhazia's address to the UN (delivered in absentia) [4]