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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 21, 2010 19:42:18 GMT -5
Georgian opposition intends to create 'Georgian lobby' in Russia.
Georgian opposition leaders will travel to Russia on Thursday to meet with Russian officials, opposition representatives and those of the Georgian diaspora in a bid to create a "Georgian lobby in Russia."
The leaders of Georgia's People's Party and Conservative Party, Koba Davitashvili and Kakha Kukava, are among those expected to visit Russia, along with other representatives of the country's National Council. The council comprises several opposition parties, including of the For a Fair Georgia public movement led by former prime minister Zurab Nogaideli.
"We are travelling [to Russia] to discuss issues of the country's unification. We will not discuss the country's interior affairs. We are going to create a public opinion, to create a Georgian lobby in Russia," Davitashvili said.
He said the Georgian delegation would meet with representatives of the Georgian diaspora in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg, where the World Forum of Georgian Peoples Diaspora will take place on Friday and Saturday.
On April 26-27, the Georgian opposition members are expected to meet with Russian officials and opposition representatives in Moscow, Davitashvili said.
Visits of Georgian opposition representatives to Russia, which have become frequent as of late, have infuriated Tbilisi. Relations between the two countries came to a standstill after the five-day war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia in August 2008.
Following the war, Russian recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia.
Nogaideli, who has visited Moscow several times in recent months, is expected to arrive in the Russian capital in early May to continue discussions on the resumption of regular air flights between Georgia and Russia, which have been halted since the war.
In early March, Nino Burdzhanadze, the former speaker of the Georgian parliament and the leader of the opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia, visited Moscow for talks with Russian political leaders, saying that such dialogue was crucial for Georgia.
During her stay in Moscow, Burdzhanadze, once an ally of President Mikheil Saakashvili, discussed Russian-Georgian relations with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian authorities have expressed their readiness to negotiate with "realistically minded" political figures in Georgia, such as Burdzhanadze and Nogaideli. Moscow has stressed the need of searching for a way out of the impasse in Russian-Georgian relations, saying it was "key to peace in the Trans-Caucasus."
TBILISI, April 22 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 20, 2010 9:18:30 GMT -5
LOL  Georgian presidential ejection. RussiaToday 20 May, 2010, 13:55 Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili has reportedly decided to improve his own security by installing an ejector seat in his private plane. The opposition Labor Party of Georgia is angry at what it sees as the lavish use of state funds. The party’s secretary general, Iosif Shatberashvili, announced at a press conference that the Georgian president has not only used state funds to buy a Bombardier Challenger aircraft (about US$56 million), but also equipped it with a personal ejection escape system (about US$7 million) out of concern for his own safety. The opposition leader believes that the purchase was made after the terrible air crash of Polish official delegation near Russia’s Smolensk, which killed practically all of Poland’s high-ranking civil and military officials, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and his wife. Shatberashvili recalled that earlier, Saakashvili had promised to use ordinary flights to move around. Having criticized the president's unconventional plans, the opposition called on the people of Georgia to boycott the local elections on May 30, and promised to hold a protest rally on May 21 in the center of the capital, Tbilisi. Meanwhile, according to Georgia’s Public Service Bureau, in 2009, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili earned 53,000 lari (about US$33,000). |
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 21, 2010 11:45:00 GMT -5
Vid, rt.com/Politics/2010-05-20/georgia-started-war-ossetia.htmlGeorgia started the war with South Ossetia – European Parliament. RussiaToday.com 20 May, 2010, 20:01 Victims of Georgia's attack on South Ossetia in August 2008 may now have an EU-approved document on their hands if they want their cases to be heard at the international criminal court in The Hague. On Thursday the European Parliament supported the findings of a special report which says Georgia “triggered the war” with heavy artillery attack on Tskhinval. It adds that this attack was not an isolated event, but the culmination of years of mounting tensions, for which all sides bear responsibility. Members of the parliament also voted to increase and further support the EU mission in the Caucasus. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 24, 2010 19:33:15 GMT -5
Abkhazia is like Sochi?
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Abkhazia calls for more crossing points on Russian border.
The president of the former Georgian republic of Abkhazia said on Monday the number of crossing points on the border with Russia should be increased.
Sergei Bagapsh said he had been receiving numerous complaints from Russian vacationers over the long lines across the border as the summer season begins.
"What is going on there now is outrageous: Women with children who want to vacation in Abkhazia have to stand in long lines for hours in the hot sun on the Russian side of the border," he said.
He also said border crossing procedure during the summer tourist season should be simplified.
The president said a meeting would be held next week with Russian Border Service and customs officials to discuss the situation.
The only border crossing between Russia and Abkhazia is in the village of Gyachrypsh, where a bridge crosses the River Psou. Bagapsh also suggested a new bridge should be built across the border river, adding that it could be built in 2011.
In early April, Russia ratified treaties with Abkhazia and another former Georgian republic of South Ossetia on joint border protection.
Under the deals, South Ossetia and Abkhazia delegate to Russia the authority to secure their borders with Georgia.
Russia recognized the independence of the former Georgian republics in August 2008 after repelling Georgia's assault on South Ossetia in a five-day war. Only Nicaragua, Venezuela and the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru have followed suit.
SUKHUMI, May 24 (RIA Novosti)
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Abkhazia Sees Tourism Boom.
Russians flock to breakaway territory despite accommodation shortage and poor service.
By Anonymous - Caucasus
CRS Issue 521, 8 Dec 09
Abkhazia, which was recognised as independent by Russia a year ago, is hailing its best ever year for tourism since the territory broke away from Georgia after defeating its army in 1993.
Official figures show 88,865 tourists stayed in Abkhazian hotels and resorts in the first nine months of the year, up from 68,905 in all of 2008. More than 700,000 trips and excursions were organised by travel agencies for the visitors, who were overwhelmingly Russian.
“Our tourists are not rich, in the main they were people of the middle class,” said Vyacheslav Bartsits, deputy tourism minister in the Abkhazian government.
The tourism boom was helped by the global financial crisis, since Abkhazia’s resorts are far cheaper than those in neighbouring regions of Russia, and gave a major boost to the government’s finances.
Tax ministry figures showed the budget received 150 million roubles (more than five million US dollars) from businesses linked to tourism, and expected an extra 20 million by the end of the year.
Officials are now planning ways to expand the sector, which is reliant on the beaches of the Black Sea coast, perhaps by building facilities in the remote, mountainous Kodor Gorge, captured from Georgia during the Russian-Georgian war of 2008.
“In future, the Kodor Gorge will be one of the major tourist areas. We hope that winter sports will develop, with the construction of ski-runs and other facilities. Abkhazia has many mineral springs, and this gives the possibility of expanding outside the traditional season,” Bartsits said.
Because of the massive influx of tourists, officials say the country had trouble accommodating them all. Abkhazia has around 13,000 beds for tourists, including around 1,500 in three Russian military sanatoria in Sukhum (which Georgians call Sukhumi) and Gudauta. The state budget made six million roubles in tax from people renting out their spare rooms, according to the tax ministry.
“This is much more than 2007 and 2008 added together,” said Vakhtang Pipiya, tax and customs minister.
Renting out such rooms to tourists is a crucial source of income for people in Abkhazia, where the economy was devastated by the war and the mass exodus of ethnic Georgians that accompanied Tbilisi’s defeat. Swathes of eastern Abkhazia remain sparsely populated, and even central Sukhum is still scarred by gutted buildings and bullet holes.
Only Venezuela and Nicaragua have followed Russia’s lead in recognising Abkhazia’s independence, but the presence of Russian troops on the river that forms Abkhazia’s eastern border appears to have reassured tourists that holidaying in Abkhazia is safe, despite Georgian protests.
"Everything that happens in Abkhazia and South Ossetia is regulated by the law ‘On the Occupied Territories’ so any activities that go against this document, including tourists' activities, is illegal," said David Darchisashvili, chairman of the Georgian parliament's committee for European integration.
Such warnings mean nothing to Elena Tarba, a pensioner in Sukhum. She has rented out her flat for several years, and said she had never known a year as successful as this one.
“I pray they will be like this in future. I earned 20,000 roubles and am delighted,” she said.
Ruslan Tvanba runs a small hotel in Sukhum, where guests pay 800 roubles for one of the 18 double rooms.
“This year the situation was better than last, although the number of guests was still average,” he said.
A survey of tourists by the Academy of Science and the president’s Centre of Strategic Investigations showed that more than two-thirds of visitors to the region came to relax on the beaches, and slightly fewer said they were drawn by the exotic location. Almost two-thirds said they had been satisfied by their stay and slightly less than a third said they had not.
Those respondents who were dissatisfied complained about the large number of destroyed buildings, poor service, rubbish on the streets, and the difficulty of crossing the Russian-Abkhazian border.
“We know our weak points. This is the quality of service. The managers of facilities must answer for this and spend money on training their staff. We understand that, because of the short season, it is hard to find specialists. And as for the border crossing, there are long queues during the season and this created mass discontent from the tourists,” Bartsits said.
“In future Russia will invest money in building a terminal. We are hoping that the Sukhum airport will open, and the railway will be developed.”
Six new hotels have been opened in the last year, funded by Russian investment, and officials aim to be able to receive 80-100,000 visitors at any one time. But Beslan Barateliya, an expert in the local tourism sector, warned that the mass influx of visitors had not been simply because they liked Abkhazia so much. The economic crisis had played a major role, and officials should not be complacent.
“I am not convinced that next year will be a lot better, because we have not changed the quality of our facilities, and service remains poor. In fact the influx of tourists will be negative, because it will not stimulate reforms. If we position ourselves as a country for tourists then we have to understand that the external situation can change to our disadvantage,” he said.
“We need to increase the quality of service and educate the people who work in the sector. The state must play a special role in this.”
But, although some visitors to Abkhazia would agree that work needs to be done to improve its facilities, the country has won converts as well. Many people who come once, come again, such as Bruce Talley, a rare American visitor to the country.
He learned about Abkhazia when visiting resorts in neighbouring parts of Russia, and has not regretted making the trip over the border.
“In Sochi there are traffic jams, and here it is very beautiful. I was in Gagra, at Lake Ritsa, in New Afon, in the cave there. I liked it very much and I will come back to Abkhazia,” he said.
Anaid Gogorian is a reporter from Chegemskaya Pravda and a participant in IWPR's Cross Caucasus Journalism Network. Giorgi Kutaradze in Tbilisi also contributed to this report.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 30, 2010 20:30:08 GMT -5
Saakashvili claims victory for his party at Georgian elections.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili congratulated his party on winning local elections on Sunday as exit polls showed a strong performance by the United National Movement in Tbilisi.
The nationwide voting was seen as a test for Saakashvili and the ruling party as it was the first time voters have been to the polls since the disastrous August 2008 war with Russia.
Preliminary results from exit polls conducted in Tbilisi by U.S. pollster Edison Research and Germany's GFK both put the ruling party ahead by a large margin and gave a similar lead in the Georgian capital's first direct mayoral elections to the incumbent, Gigi Ugulava.
The mayor is a staunch ally of Saakashvili, who has faced down fierce criticism from opposition groups since the conflict with Russia that led to Moscow recognizing the independence of the former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"Preliminary exit polls, and our political experience and intuition, tell us that the political force represented by Gigi and all of us gathered here was chosen by approximately the same number of voters as at the parliamentary elections in 2008 and the local elections four years ago," Saakashvili said at the headquarters of the United National Movement.
"This is very important," he said. "It means we still have the confidence and support of our people."
"The final outcome of today's election is that democracy in Georgia won another victory," Saakashvili said, adding that a record number of voters took part.
The early exit polls gave Ugulava 61% of the vote in the mayoral election, and the ruling party 60% in the city council voting.
One of the most popular members of the opposition, former UN ambassador Irakli Alasania, trailed with 17% of the vote for mayor, while his Alliance for Georgia had 16%.
The Edison research poll was commissioned by the Rustavi-2 and Imedi television channels, which the opposition says favor the government. The exit polls did not cover voting in the 63 other municipal council, and opposition leaders called on the public to ignore their predictions.
Alasania said the exit polls "do not give the real picture."
"The complete count of voters' ballots will give us the real picture, so we will give an overall assessment of the elections after the completion of the vote count," he told journalists.
Inga Grigolia, a leader of the Christian-Democratic Union, which was third with about 10% of the vote, said voters were afraid to tell the truth in exit polls for fear of losing their jobs.
"The results of exit polls are not the final outcome of the elections," Grigolia said. "Citizens are afraid to publicly record their position on the elections, because the next day, coming to work, they risk losing it."
TBILISI, May 30 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 6, 2010 9:50:05 GMT -5
Circassian gypsies...
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Circassians move to seek autonomy within Russia.
A public organization of Circassians, a North Caucasus ethnic group, gathered for an emergency congress on Saturday to ask the Russian authorities to create a Circassian autonomous area, Russian media reported.
The Circassian autonomous area existed within the Soviet Union in 1928-1957. The majority of Russian Circassians currently live in the Russian North Caucasus Republic of Karachai-Circassia, where they make the third largest ethnic group (11.3%), after Karachais and Russians, according to the 2002 census.
"Under the current state of affairs in the Republic of Karachai-Circassia, the Circassian people have no legal perspective for their revival and development," Nezavisimaya Gazeta quoted a statement by the congress' organization committee.
A similar request filed in 2008 was "ignored" by the Russian authorities, the congress said.
The public organization of Circassians has been seeking autonomy for Circassians since 1994, citing "mono-national ethnocracy" and "a violation of constitutional rights of Circassians and other peoples to hold the leading posts in the republic."
Political controversies in republic came into focus in March after a leader of the organization's youth movement was killed. Members of the movement claimed that this was an assassination. The tensions further escalated last month after an aide to the republic's president, an ethnic Circassian, was killed on May 12.
MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by CHORNYVOLK on Jun 9, 2010 16:29:59 GMT -5
Circassian gypsies... ------ Circassians move to seek autonomy within Russia. A public organization of Circassians, a North Caucasus ethnic group, gathered for an emergency congress on Saturday to ask the Russian authorities to create a Circassian autonomous area, Russian media reported. The Circassian autonomous area existed within the Soviet Union in 1928-1957. The majority of Russian Circassians currently live in the Russian North Caucasus Republic of Karachai-Circassia, where they make the third largest ethnic group (11.3%), after Karachais and Russians, according to the 2002 census. "Under the current state of affairs in the Republic of Karachai-Circassia, the Circassian people have no legal perspective for their revival and development," Nezavisimaya Gazeta quoted a statement by the congress' organization committee. A similar request filed in 2008 was "ignored" by the Russian authorities, the congress said. The public organization of Circassians has been seeking autonomy for Circassians since 1994, citing "mono-national ethnocracy" and "a violation of constitutional rights of Circassians and other peoples to hold the leading posts in the republic." Political controversies in republic came into focus in March after a leader of the organization's youth movement was killed. Members of the movement claimed that this was an assassination. The tensions further escalated last month after an aide to the republic's president, an ethnic Circassian, was killed on May 12. MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) Those Russians are in most probability cossacks so there will be no autonomy .  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 23, 2010 18:58:15 GMT -5
U.S. puts Chechen militant leader Umarov on its list of terrorists (Update 1) 01:31 24/06/2010  MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. included the notorious leader of Chechen militants, Doku Umarov, on its list of terrorists, the U.S. Department of State said on Thursday. Umarov, who styles himself as "the Emir of the Caucasus," has claimed responsibility for the two recent major terrorist attacks on the Russian territory - the Nevsky Express train bombing and the March 29 suicide bombing attacks in the Moscow Metro. He threatened further attacks. "The Secretary of State has designated Caucasus Emirates leader Doku Umarov under Presidential Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. This action will help stem the flow of financial and other assistance to Umarov," a State Department spokesman, Philip Crowley, said in a statement. The Presidential Executive Order 13224 was signed on September 23, 2001, by then U.S. President George Bush. The 116-page document contains the list of terrorists and terrorist organizations, and allows to impose sanctions on them. "The action taken today against Umarov supports the U.S. effort to degrade Umarov's ability to exert operational and leadership control over Caucasus Emirates," the statement reads. "We are determined to eliminate the group's ability to direct violent attacks and to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Umarov's network." The high-speed Nevsky Express train derailed on November 27, 2009, killing 28 people and injuring over 90 en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg after a bomb equivalent to 7 kg (15 lbs) of TNT detonated on the track. A second, weaker bomb exploded at the site on Saturday, and is believed to have targeted investigators. The attack on the Moscow subway occurred on March 29 when two suicide bombers blew themselves up during the morning rush hour at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations, killing 40 people and injuring over 100. "The recent attacks perpetrated by Umarov and his operatives illustrate the global nature of the terrorist problem we face today. We stand in solidarity with the Russian people in our condemnation of these deplorable terrorist acts," the statement quotes Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the Department of State's Coordinator for Counterterrorism, as saying. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 26, 2010 8:11:30 GMT -5
Kadyrov says some 50-60 militants still active in Chechnya.
Around 50-60 militants are still active in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, the republic's president said on Wednesday.
"According to our information, there are about 50-60 militants on our territory. We are about to be done with them," Ramzan Kadyrov said in an interview with Russian News Service radio.
Sporadic terrorist attacks and militant clashes are common in Russia's volatile southern republics, where Russia has held two brutal wars against separatists in Chechnya, although the Kremlin has officially ended its military campaign against separatists and terrorists there.
Kadyrov added that the information on the number of militants in Chechnya provided by various departments differs greatly. According to the Federal Security Service, he said, there are 400-500 militants, while the Interior Ministry claims the number stands at 198.
"We must not create illusions on the greater number of militants. It would only play into their hands. They have the impression that they can't be caught," he said.
The Chechen president said also that notorious militant leader Doku Umarov would be certainly detained and it is only a matter of time.
"He [Umarov] has been recently hiding out in burrows. He dug one for himself and is sitting there and doesn't leave. Whoever comes out of them will be killed, and once he comes out, he'll be killed immediately, I give you my word...it's just a matter of time," Kadyrov said.
Umarov claimed responsibility for the March 29 metro attacks in Moscow, saying in a video message they were revenge for a special operation carried out by federal security forces on February 11, 2010, when 18 militants and four civilians were killed in Ingushetia. He threatened further attacks.
The two bombs detonated during the morning rush hour at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations in the Russian capital, killing 40 people and injuring over 100.
MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 8:11:50 GMT -5
Belarus promises to recognize Abkhazia, South Ossetia - Medvedev (Update 1)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has promised to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
Lukashenko made his promise in the presence of several CIS leaders, Medvedev said.
"Recognition [of the republics] is in our interests," he added.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia shortly after a five-day war with Georgia in August 2008. Fighting broke out when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control.
Nicaragua, Venezuela and the tiny island nation of Nauru are the only other countries to have recognized the republics.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Lukashenko have repeatedly claimed that Belarus is under intense pressure from Russia to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Experts say Belarus has been dragging its feet because it fears that the move would strain its relations with the West.
SOCHI, August 3 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 5, 2010 6:29:42 GMT -5
Russian police kill militants linked to Baksan hydro plant attack.
Russian investigators confirmed on Thursday that two militants linked to July's attack on a hydroelectric power station in the North Caucasus had been killed.
Ruslan Orshokdugov and Rustam Seyunov were killed in a police operation on July 25, Investigation Committee spokesman Alexander Markin said.
Markin said the two men were members of the Baksan Dzhamaat terrorist group.
A group of four gunmen burst into the Baksan Hydropower Plant in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria early on July 21 and shoot dead two security guards. They then detonated four explosive devices. The resulting blaze covered an area of 250 sq meters.
MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 6, 2010 18:20:39 GMT -5
Russia grants South Ossetia $950 mln in economic aid.
Russia has provided a total of 28 billion rubles ($950 mln) to facilitate South Ossetia's economic development, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Friday.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier said Russia would grant the republic 6.8 billion rubles in 2011, while nearby Abkhazia would receive 3.2 billion.
Shuvalov stressed that Russia would be sending more funds not for the republic's economic reconstruction but for "building up its economic capability."
He said Moscow and the tiny republic should decide on a list of projects that Russia will "invest in the future of South Ossetia."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday he is sure Russia did the right thing in August 2008 when it fought Georgia and recognized the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia recognized the republics after repelling Georgia's assault on South Ossetia in a five-day war. Nicaragua, Venezuela and the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru later followed suit.
Medvedev also reiterated Russia's readiness to restore relations with Georgia after the departure of its current president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He stressed that diplomatic ties with Georgia had been ruined through none of Russia's fault, laying the entire responsibility on Saakashvili.
South Ossetia, along with Abkhazia, broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 10, 2010 5:41:50 GMT -5
Russian President Visits Georgia’s Separatist Region Abkhazia.
Novinite.com
World | August 8, 2010, Sunday
The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has unexpectedly visited Abkhazia, the separatist Georgian region.
According to the BBC, this is Medvedev’s first visit to Abkhazia since the 2008 South Ossetia War between Russia and Georgia which lasted from August 7 until August 12, 2008.
South Ossetia and the other separatist Georgian region Abkhazia declared independence on August 21. Subsequently, they have been recognized only by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela, and Georgia still considers both regions part of its territory.
During his visit, the Russian President has promised to strengthen the ties with the two regions and to financially support them.
Medvedev has also commented on Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“It was painful, it was not simple, and time has proven that it was the right decision,” Medvedev said, as reported by the BBC.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 10, 2010 6:13:20 GMT -5
Medvedev visits Russian military base in Abkhazia.
President Dmitry Medvedev chatted with Russian soldiers on Sunday at a military base in Abkhazia, vowing that troops' living conditions would be improved.
The former Soviet military base on the Black Sea coast north of Abkhazia's capital has been undergoing reconstruction following a February deal between Moscow and Sukhumi making Russia's presence there permanent.
Russia had maintained a 1,700-strong force in Abkhazia with its headquarters in Gudauta under a September 2009 agreement on military cooperation.
Medvedev, on his first visit to Abkhazia, told servicemen that the construction of new barracks, homes and dormitories was being completed and would make their service in the former Georgian republic more comfortable.
"By mid-September we will introduce the new barracks, where the conditions will be fine," he said as he talked with soldiers over lunch.
"The houses are going up fast enough, they will provide air-conditioners and have all the amenities," he said, joking with the troops about the heat.
"It's hot, but what can you do, you put up with it. But it's better here than it is in Moscow. It may be hot but there is no smoke or fumes."
The president recalled that two years ago the Georgian side sparked a bloody conflict with Russia when it attacked South Ossetia, killing several Russian peacekeepers who were stationed there.
Moscow recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent in August 2008 and has since been the guarantor of their security. Medvedev praised the soldiers for their efforts, noting that the two years had been difficult, but peaceful life had been established in the republics.
"During this time, those who serve here and in South Ossetia have been well-schooled. But most importantly - all of you today and your predecessors have simply defended peaceful life and helped ordinary citizens," Medvedev said.
At the end of the visit, Medvedev reminded the soldiers about their main task.
"Your mission remains the same - you must make sure no one sticks his nose in here," he said.
Neighbors "must accept Abkhazia's independence, and our treaties with her, but then our former partners sometimes forget how to behave," he added.
On the second anniversary of Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, President Mikheil Saakashvili urged Georgians to "liberate" their country.
"Our historic mission is to carry out until the end the struggle for the liberation of Georgia," Saakashvili said in an address aired on Saturday across the country.
Two weeks after the end of the five-day war, Russia recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent. So far, only Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru have followed suit.
GUDAUTA (Abkhazia), August 8 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 10, 2010 6:31:04 GMT -5
Russia's Medvedev visits Abkhazia, pledges cooperation in all spheres. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived on Sunday in Abkhazia on the first ever visit by the head of the Russian state since Russia recognized the independence of the former Georgian republic two years ago. At his meeting with Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, Medvedev said that Russia would develop comprehensive relations with Abkhazia. "We'll be developing good relations with Abkhazia, we'll be developing economic relations and relations in the sphere of security," Medvedev said during his brief visit to the former Georgian republic. Long-standing tensions between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia turned violent during a five-day war in August 2008. The war started in the early hours of August 8 when Georgia launched a military offensive against South Ossetia, where most residents are Russian passport holders. Russia reacted swiftly, expelling Georgian troops from South Ossetia and forcing them deep into Georgia amid accusations on both sides of human right abuses. Two weeks after the end of the war, Russia recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which both split from Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The move was heavily criticized by Western powers. So far, only Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny island nation of Nauru have followed suit. "Exactly two years ago, well-known grave events occurred in South Ossetia, which triggered a whole number of political processes, including the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as the independent subjects of international law," the Russian president said. Medvedev said Russia would develop the whole range of relations with Abkhazia and there was no alternative to that. "Now it is important to continue developing relations in the economic and social spheres," Medvedev said, adding that Abkhazia had all the chances to turn into a flourishing country. SUKHUMI, August 8 (RIA Novosti)  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived on Sunday in Abkhazia. At his meeting with Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, Medvedev said that Russia would develop comprehensive relations with Abkhazia. |
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