Abkhazia will fortify frontier with Georgia, Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh announced during the news conference in Sukhum, ITAR-TASS reported.
 

“Fortifying the state border with Georgia via the Inguri river is the key issue,” Bagapsh said. The construction will begin in the nearest month and a half. “It will be a real state border, which will solve lots of issues, first of all, penetration of all kinds of subversive and terrorist units and smuggled goods from the territory of adjacent state as well as the to-and-from chaotic movement of people,” Bagapsh explained.
 

“Besides, the locals will calm down if they are sure of safe protection. It is the task No. 1 and it will be accomplished,” the president vowed, specifying that “along with fortifying the state border with Georgia, the border of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation will be more transparent.”

09.23.2008  Kommersant

 Gagauzia's Parliament recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia

The People's Assembly of Gagauzia has recognized independence of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia at a session on September 19, 2008. The Gagauz Parliament also voiced its unconditional support for Russia's actions towards the republics, a source at the Assembly told a REGNUM correspondent.

Chair of the People's Assembly of the Gagauz Autonomy Anna Kharlamenko put for voting text of an address to the president and the parliament of Moldova calling to recognize the independence of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia saying the People's Assembly of Gagauzia recognized the independence of the republics. The address was adopted by a majority of 18 from 34 MPs. The decision was based on bilateral treaties signed by the self-determined Gagauz Republic with Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 1992-93.

Members of the ruling in Moldova Communist Party boycotted the session.

09.22.2008  Journal of Turkish Weekly

 Abkhazia denies its alleged involvement in Khurcha gunfire incident

Sukhum, Abkhazia has strongly denied its alleged involvement in the Sunday shooting incident in the Khurcha village in the Georgian Zugdidi region, where one Georgian policeman was killed and another two policemen were injured.

“Abkhazia has nothing to do with the incidents on the adjoining territory,” district police chief Laurence Koghonia told Itar-Tass. “Georgia is trying to blame us for the death of its policeman.”

He said they had heard the gunfire. “Abkhaz border guards stationed in the Nabakevi village of the Gal district, in the direct proximity to the Khurcha village, registered several outbreaks of gunfire,” the policemen said. “We do not exclude certain clashes on the adjoining territory, in which they have had the killed and the wounded.”

One Georgian policeman was killed and another two were injured in the village of Khurcha in the Zugdidi district bordering on the Gal district of Abkhazia, the Georgian Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

“Georgian policemen deployed in the village of Khurcha were attacked on Sunday night from the territory of the Abkhaz Gal district. One policeman was killed and two were injured. The injured policemen were taken to the Zugdidi hospital,” the ministry said.

“The Georgian police did not open fire at the Gal district, from where the gunfire was coming,” the ministry said.

The Georgian side informed of the incident the UN military observers stationed in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone, the ministry said.

09.21.2008  Itar-Tass

Turkey will not hinder the resumption of maritime traffic with Abkhazia, Sener Gogua, the head of the Abkhaz parliamentary committee for links with fellow-countrymen, said on Friday, Russian Interfax agency reported.

"I have had several official meetings over the past 14 days dealing with the recognition of Abkhazia's sovereignty and independence, the arrangement of direct contacts between Turkey and Abkhazia, and the possible changing of Ankara's policy toward Sukhum," Gogua was quoted as saying by Interfax.

He paid a visit to Turkey, where he traveled on the Abkhaz foreign minister's request.

"I discussed the restoration of maritime traffic at a meeting with the Turkish prime minister's foreign policy advisor. I am sure practical issues for resuming maritime traffic between our countries will soon be resolved," Gogua said.

The Caucasus diaspora in Turkey has sent a letter to the Turkish leadership to urge it to revise its attitude toward Abkhazia and South Ossetia and arrange mutually beneficial cooperation, taking into account the recent changes in the situation in the Caucasus region, he added.

Gogua also said he had meetings with experts from various think tank organizations.

"We tried to persuade Turkish experts and politicians that Abkhazia and South Ossetia will never be part of Georgia again, especially considering the tragic August events in Tskhinval," he said.

The Turkish political elite should revise its attitude toward Georgia and stop providing it with military and economic assistance, Gogua said. "We repeatedly pointed out at the meetings that we understand Turkey's strategic interests regarding energy security but that the policy of Georgia's support does not promote stability in the region," he said.

09.20.2008  Hürriyet

Sochi, Abkhazia and South Ossetia will decide on Russian troops' further deployment on their territories, Russia's prime minister said on Saturday.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states last month after a brief armed conflict with Georgia, which attacked South Ossetia on August 8.

On Wednesday, Russia signed friendship and cooperation treaties with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, pledging economic and military aid to them.

"The issue of [Russian] troops' deployment will be decided bilaterally in compliance with international law," Vladimir Putin said after a meeting with his French counterpart Francois Fillon.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said a total of 7,600 troops would be deployed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, more than twice the size of its peacekeeping contingents before the armed conflict with Georgia.

Fillon said his country would deploy 40 monitors in Georgia's "buffer zone" near South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as part of the EU mission of 200 observers.

"The European Union has decided to send up to 200 monitors," the premier said. "France will send about 40 people" into the region.

A European diplomatic source said on Tuesday that France would send 76 monitors to the mission, led by the EU's special representative for Georgia, Pierre Morel.

Once the EU mission has been deployed Russia will have 10 days to complete a full troop pullout from undisputed parts of Georgia.

09.20.2008  RIA Novosti

The European Union recommends Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia independent, the Russian Independent Newspaper informs.

The fourth joint meeting of the European Union Central Asia Ministerial Troika ran on the eve of the first EU-Central Asia Security Forum in Paris, September 18. Political consultations with each country of the region separately resulted into EU recommendations to Central Asia to recognize independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The respond of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is not reported. The Foreign ministers did not speak on the issue yet. However, the Uzbek Foreign Minister, Vladimir Norov, noted that his country “is not certain about this issue yet.”

The Central Asia Security Forum in Paris disclosed EU’s interest in its energy projects realization and preserving stability in the Central Asian region. Moreover, the European counties confirmed commitments to Central Asia under the joint strategy adopted in June 2007. Beside, Europe has declared intentions to fully revive cooperation with Uzbekistan.

09.19.2008  News Agency "24.kg"

United Nations, The UN military observer force in Georgia will get a new mandate for several months from October 15, the UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations said on Thursday.

"What we are trying to achieve before there is an international agreement is not to change the scope of the mandate and leave it to the Geneva conference to find a mechanism for South Ossetia and Abkhazia," Alain Le Roy said.

Russia has said the Security Council may not discuss extending the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), which expires on October 15, without hearing from all parties to the conflict.

Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26. Only Nicaragua has recognized the republics since then, although Belarus may follow suit later this month.

The UN, the EU, and the OSCE are to meet in Geneva next month to decide on an international mechanism to end the conflict between Georgia and Russia.

The current UN force, with 130 military observers and a small police force, has been mandated to monitor a ceasefire between Abkhazia and Georgia.

09.18.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Abkhazia and South Ossetia plan to apply for membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh said.

“Prospects are very good. We will apply for membership in these organizations and hope or a positive decision,” Bagapsh told a press conference at Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“I think our membership in the CIS and the CSTO, and especially in the Russia-Belarus Union State, is what we all need,” he said.

South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity said, “This is another stage in the development of our states. We will strengthen these relations, but this will take time.”

Asked whether South Ossetia would join Russia, Kokoity said South Ossetia planned to join Russia by way of integration.

“South Ossetia intends to join Russia. South and North Ossetia are a part of Russia. We have never made a secret out of this,” Kokoity said.

At the same time, he noted, “We will not give up our independence.”

“What happened today vividly demonstrates Russia’s determination to strengthen relations. Russia has no intention to annex other territories as others do,” he said.

“We will build such relations with Moscow that will facilitate the integration of our peoples through different forms of integration, such as the removal of the border, and other forms,” Kokoity said.

“We are very grateful to the Russian people,” the South Ossetian president said.

09.17.2008  Itar-Tass

Moscow, The State Duma is ready to support the treaties of friendship with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said.

He believes that the documents will be submitted to the Duma or ratification shortly and “may be approved by the parliamentarians by the end of October”.

Slutsky noted, “At the end of August the State Duma asked the president to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia and called for establishing good-neighbourly relations with these republics.”

On September 9, Abkhazia and Russia, and South Ossetia and Russia signed agreements on the establishment of diplomatic relations. On Wednesday, South Ossetia and Abkhazia signed the treaties of friendship with Russia for 10 years. They will be automatically renewed for five-year periods.

09.17.2008  Itar-Tass

Moscow, Russia has confirmed the territorial integrity of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the inviolability of its borders with these states.

The parties confirm and respect the territorial integrity (of each other) and the inviolability of (their) existing borders, say the identical articles of the treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, concluded in the Kremlin earlier on Wednesday.

“The parties shall conclude a separate agreement on the state border between them. The protection of the state border (of Abkhazia and South Ossetia) shall be maintained by joint efforts of the contracting parties proceeding from the interests of their own security and also peace and stability in the Trans-Caucasus region,” the treaty says.

09.17.2008  Itar-Tass

Moscow, Abkhazia and South Ossetia plan to apply for membership of the CIS, the Russia-Belarus Union State, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Abkhazian leader said on Wednesday.

Russia has traditionally dominated all three of these post-Soviet organizations.

"We will send membership applications to these structures, and we hope they will be accepted," Sergei Bagapsh said at a joint news conference with S. Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity in Moscow.

Kokoity said that he fully supported the statement of the Abkhazian president.

"This is a logical step in the development of our states. We will strengthen these relations with time," he said.

Russia signed friendship and cooperation treaties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia earlier on Wednesday, promising them military and economic support.

Georgia served notice of its withdrawal from the CIS, an alliance of former Soviet republics, on August 18, 2008, following a 5-day war with Russia over S. Ossetia. Its withdrawal becomes effective on August 17, 2009.

The CSTO is a security grouping comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The Russia-Belarus Union State is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. It was formed in 1996 "with the intention of providing greater political, economic, and social integration."

Moscow recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26. Most residents of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia have had Russian citizenship for several years.

Russia pledged in the friendship and cooperation treaties to help the two republics to protect their borders. The pacts also permit Russia and South Ossetia, as well as Russia and Abkhazia, to set up military bases on each other's territories.

The treaties also formalized economic cooperation between Russia and the republics, and cleared the way for dual citizenship for Russian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian nationals. Russia agreed to unify its transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure with the two republics.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia have so far only been recognized by Russia and Nicaragua. Belarus has pledged to follow suit in the near future, and Venezuela has voiced support for Russia's recognition of the two republics.

09.17.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russia signed friendship and cooperation treaties with South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Wednesday, promising them military and economic support.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states last month after a brief armed conflict with Georgia, which attacked South Ossetia on August 8.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the documents with Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity in the Kremlin.

Medvedev said after the signing ceremony that Russia will not permit any new Georgian acts of aggression against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and is ready to intervene militarily.

"No one should be in any doubt - we will not permit new reckless military acts," he said.

Under the treaties, Russia has pledged to help the two republics to protect their borders, and their signatories have granted each other the right to set up military bases in their respective territories.

The treaties also formalized economic cooperation between Russia and the republics, and allowed dual citizenship for Russian, Abkhaz and South Ossetian residents. Russia agreed to unify its transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure with the two republics.

"The sides will be striving for the highest level of economic integration and will actively develop trade and economic cooperation, taking measures to unify energy and transportation systems as well as systems of communication and telecommunication," the treaties said.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia have so far only been recognized by Russia and Nicaragua. Belarus has pledged to follow suit in the near future, and Venezuela has voiced support for Russia's recognition of the two republics.

The two republics broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s through wars that claimed thousands of lives.

Bagapsh said Abkhazia and South Ossetia plan to apply for membership in the Russia-Belarus Union State and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

"We will send membership applications to these structures and we hope they will be accepted," he said.

09.17.2008  RIA Novosti

New York, The United Nations Security Council has expressed an interest in meeting with representatives of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but says the visa issue must be decided first, Russia's envoy to the UN said Tuesday.

"UN Security Council members have expressed great interest in such meeting, but we have not overcome the well-known obstacle of obtaining American visas and are currently working on this," Vitaly Churkin said.

Russia suggested holding an informal UN Security Council meeting with representatives of Abkhazia and South Ossetia after Security Council consultations on September 9, in which Russia introduced a draft resolution on imposing an arms embargo on Georgia.

Russia considers it impossible for the Security Council to discuss extending the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), which expires on October 15, without hearing from all parties to the conflict.

Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26. Only Nicaragua has recognized the republics since then, although Belarus may follow suit later this month.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Norov, the foreign minister of Uzbekistan, said his country had not yet decided whether to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"As for the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Uzbekistan has not yet worked out its approach," Norov said following a regular session of the Uzbekistan-EU Cooperation Council in Brussels.

09.16.2008  RIA Novosti

Vladimir Frolov, Russia Was Too Swift to Recognize the Independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia

It is natural for any nation to rally around the flag at a time of war, and to support the troops and the commander in chief. During the conflict with Georgia, Russians did exactly that. Democracies, however, have a healthy practice of going back and reviewing the way their leaders behaved in the face of animosity.

A month after the war erupted on August 8, the time has come for a rational analysis of what happened, and whether there might have been a better strategy for Russia in dealing with this crisis. Was Russia prepared for a war with Georgia?

The basic answer to this question is “yes.” The Russian political and military leadership clearly anticipated the crisis. It was hard not to. The writing had been on the wall since Mikheil Saakashvili’s election as Georgia’s president in January of 2004. The first attempt to seize South Ossetia came, and failed, in the summer of 2004. Since Saakashvili’s second election in January 2008, when his support rating dropped by 40 percent, it became clear that he would jump sooner rather than later.

It was not, however, clear where he would attack first – in Abkhazia or in South Ossetia. For a while it looked like Abkhazia was a more likely target, with Georgian forces moving into the Khodori Gorge and flying reconnaissance drones over Abkhazia to spot targets.

Russia quickly deployed additional peacekeeping forces to Abkhazia (but stayed within the allowed 3,000 limit), as well as railway construction troops to upgrade the railroad linking Abkhazia with Russia.

Washington claims that this was a direct provocation (just like shooting down a Georgian drone) intended to facilitate the movement of Russian forces into Abkhazia later in August. It may, of course, look this way. But it also seems like a prudent and necessary precaution on the part of Russia when the Georgian invasion appeared imminent. Should a war erupt, a railway is essential for quickly delivering reinforcements and supplies.

The same could be said of Russia’s decision to send fighter-bombers, and publicly announce it, into Georgia’s airspace in early July, when skirmishes between Georgia and South Ossetia began to get out of hand.

Much has been made by the West of the fact that Russia had forces pre-deployed in staging areas on the border with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. That, again, was a measure of prudent preparation – if a war is believed to be likely or even imminent, you need to move forces to the theatre quickly. Russia did not conceal this fact, and announced a major military exercise in the region - “Kavkaz-2008” - as a measure of deterrence. “Don’t even think about it,” the Kremlin signaled to Saakashvili.

In short, Russia took preparatory military steps and was ready for the war. The Kremlin acted responsibly and deserves praise for this.

Was Russia justified in its military response to the Georgian attack?

No question about it. It was the only right thing to do. Blood was spilled. Georgia attacked first. Russian peacekeepers and civilians were killed. Not to roll back Saakashvili’s army would have taken a heavier political toll on Russia and the Russian leadership than staying neutral. Going wobbly on South Ossetia would have fatally undermined the Kremlin’s credibility in North Ossetia, Chechnya, and throughout the rest of the Caucasus.

Was Russia right to use overwhelming force?

Definitely so. When you go to war, you go to win, and have to make sure that your forces enjoy clear superiority on the battlefield. It’s the “Powell Doctrine.” The United States always does that when it goes to war. We do not analyze the military aspects of the Russian operation (this is meant for a purely professional discussion), just the political decisions. And the decision to use a large contingent of forces, including the air force and the navy, was the right one – it helped achieve the objectives quickly and minimize casualties.

Was it right to go deep into Georgia and to destroy the Georgian military infrastructure?

Again, yes. You do everything necessary to win and destroy the enemy’s forces and his capability to wage war again. There were Georgian bases with heavy equipment, including long-range artillery and tanks, at Gori and Senaki, and there were combat ships, including guided missile boats at Poti. They were either seized or destroyed. The civilian port of Poti, including the oil terminals, was left intact. An extended security zone outside the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia had to be established and controlled by Russian forces to put civilian targets out of the Georgian artillery’s range. Until international (most likely the EU) monitors can be sent to this extended security zone, Russian forces have to be there.

There were some disquieting signs that Russian military commanders were prepared to go further and even march on Tbilisi. The Kremlin quickly brought them to their senses and stopped the operation exactly where it should have been halted.

Was a “regime change” in Tbilisi Moscow’s objective during the war?

The answer is no. The Kremlin never thought of bombing and storming Tbilisi and deposing Saakashvili. That would have meant too many casualties, and would have been counterproductive to Russia’s long-term strategy to win over the Georgian people.

If a regime change has been on the cards, Saakashvili would have been a target, his bunker would have been bombed, and Georgia’s television would have been taken off the air in the first hours of the war. This is exactly what the United States did in Iraq and in Yugoslavia. In fact, the United States and NATO bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days, specifically targeting civilian infrastructure – bridges, power plants, TV stations – to incur pain and suffering on the population, so that it would rise up against the government of Slobodan Milosevic. Nothing of the sort was attempted by Russia.

A regime change in Tbilisi might well be Russia’s strategic political objective; hence Moscow’s refusal to deal with the “political corpse” of Saakashvili, but it was not the objective of this war.

Was Russia justified to claim genocide of Ossetians by Saakashvili’s regime?

The claim was exaggerated in the smoke of war. Undoubtedly, Georgian forces indiscriminately fired at civilian targets in South Ossetia using heavy artillery to bomb the cities of Tskhinvali and Jaba. Notoriously inaccurate Grad multiple rocket launch systems were widely used on soft targets, killing many civilians.

However, Russia rushed to pronounce the civilian casualty count of 2,000 in the first days of the war. That claim was never backed up by evidence. The Russian military investigators documented 133 civilian deaths, and Human Rights Watch – fewer than 100.

This is still a very heavy death toll, and clear proof of the fact that the Georgian military committed war crimes in their assault on South Ossetia. This makes Saakashvili, as the commander in chief who gave the order, a war criminal as well. But it does not amount to a genocide, which is defined as a long term, systematic killing of a certain group of people based on ethnicity.

Was Russia right to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states right after the war?

My answer to this one is “no.” There was no rush to do it. The political cost for Russia has so far been too high to justify the action.

It is true that just like Kosovo Albanians, Abkhazians and South Ossetians would never again live in a single state with Georgians. Blood is thicker than water. It is unimaginable that the international community would ever be able to make them change their minds.

But here is a case where the process matters just as much as the end result. Kosovo was under UN administration for nine years, and there were multiple rounds of UN and the EU-sponsored final status talks between Belgrade and Pristina to no avail. There was a UNSC sponsored Ahtisaari plan that was to be voted on at the UN, had Russia not indicated that it would veto it.  The process exhausted itself. The way for unilateral recognition was opened.

It was possible and desirable to go through at least some of these motions, and the Dmitry Medvedev-Nicolas Sarkozy cease-fire agreement, which did not even mention Georgia’s territorial integrity and referred to the need for an international process to determine South Ossetia’s future, clearly envisaged such a possibility.

Perhaps, there might have been compelling reasons to hasten the recognition that we cannot talk about, like securing a legal basis for stationing substantial Russian forces in the two republics that could not be covered by a peacekeeping mandate. I do not know. It does not look this way.

But it certainly looks like we might have avoided much international criticism had we moved slower on the independence issue. Perhaps, the planned talks in Geneva in mid-October will make up for a political process leading to wider recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. We shall see.

All in all, the Russian leadership acted competently in the run up and during the crisis (if you discount the lost information war). The strategy to roll back Saakashvili’s aggression was right and was feasible. It was on the recognition issue that a better strategy was clearly available. We need to ask the Russian leaders why they did not choose it.

09.16.2008  RUSSIA PROFILE

Moscow, The Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Andrei Nesterenko has accused Georgia's ruling regime of ethnic hatred against the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

It has been learned, Nesterenko said at a briefing, that Georgia sent requests to several international organizations to halt all projects for the rebuilding and development of the republics.

The Georgian leadership's extreme hostility towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia has been evident during the recent years, Nesterenko said. Tbilisi has tried everything from the installation of puppet governments, to an economic and transportation blockade, the deprivation of water in cities and villages, shootings, provocations, and finally full-scale aggression, the official noted.

He pointed out, however, that even against this backdrop, the recent appeal that was allegedly made by the Georgian Reintegration Ministry looks absolutely cynical. Georgian authorities are trying to make international organizations which aim to ease people's suffering a party to their aggression, Nesterenko stated.

09.16.2008  RBC

Tskhinval, Russia insists that OSCE and European Union observers be deployed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as soon as possible, its foreign minister said on Monday.

Sergei Lavrov also said Georgia was preparing "terrorist acts" in the two republics.

"There is information that such provocations could be prepared and are being prepared, and not only regarding South Ossetia and Abkhazia," he said.

The deployment of the observers would, Lavrov said, "prevent any such attempts [at terrorist attacks]," and also "thoughts about" provocations in the conflict zone.

Lavrov also said that despite the large-scale destruction in Tskhinval, the South Ossetian capital, Moscow would find a way to accommodate the Russian ambassador to the republic and his staff there.

Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 26. Georgian forces attacked breakaway South Ossetia on August 8, triggering a Russian operation to "force Georgia to peace." Most residents of South Ossetia Abkhazia have Russian citizenship.

Western nations strongly criticized Russia for its "disproportionate" response to Georgia's attack, and its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. So far only Nicaragua has followed suit, but Belarus looks likely to do so later this month.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s amid bloody conflicts which claimed thousands of lives.

09.15.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has inked decrees on the signing of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance agreements between Russia and Abkhazia, as well as Russia and South Ossetia, the Russian leader's press office reported today. In the decrees, Medvedev approved the draft accords that had been negotiated with the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sides earlier. The Russian Foreign Ministry may make minor amendments to the documents during talks with the republics.

According to the presidential press office, Medvedev believes that the agreements should be signed at the highest level.

09.15.2008  RBC

Moscow, Russia will sign cooperation agreements, which will have a military component, with Abkhazia and South Ossetia this week, President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.

"This week I will sign the relevant special agreements to develop friendly ties with these new states within international law," Medvedev told Russian businessmen.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after Tbilisi's offensive to retake the latter in early August.

Western nations strongly criticized Russia for its "disproportionate" response to Georgia's attack, and its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. So far only Nicaragua has followed suit, but Belarus looks likely to do so later this month.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s amid bloody conflicts that claimed thousands of lives.

Russia established official diplomatic relations with the two republics on September 9.

09.15.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russia plans to open an embassy in the Republic of Abkhazia by the end of the year, a senior Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.

"We plan to settle all issues concerning the embassy by the end of this year," an official said, adding that a new building could be built to accommodate the diplomatic mission in Sukhum, Abkhazia's capital.

Russia officially established diplomatic ties with South Ossetia and Abkhazia on September 9, when each side exchanged notes in Moscow.

"In the nearest future experts from Moscow will arrive in Sukhum to decide the location of the Russian embassy," the city mayor, Alias Labakhua said on Monday.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia after Georgia launched a military offensive on South Ossetia in early August in an attempt to regain control over the region.

09.15.2008  RIA Novosti

Sukhum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has come to Sukhum.

Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh, Prime Minister Alexander Ankuab, Speaker Nugzar Ashuba, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Stranichkin and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba welcomed him at the airport.

Right upon the arrival, the Russian delegation visited a secondary school reconstructed with the assistance of Moscow. Lavrov’s meeting with Abkhaz officials and a press conference will come next. That is the first official visit of a high-ranking Russian representative to Abkhazia within the past 15 years.

Russia and Abkhazia established diplomatic relations on September 9. The Sukhum negotiations may center on the opening of a Russian embassy in Abkhazia.

09.14.2008  Itar-Tass

Sukhum, A Russian peacekeepers' truck in Abkhazia was hit by a roadside bomb explosion on Sunday, but no one was injured, local police said.

Authorities in Abkhazia have blamed the attack on Georgian special forces.

A local police official told RIA Novosti the blast occurred at 7:30 a.m. Moscow time (03:30 GMT) in the village of Chuburkhindzhi in the Gal District, where the population is predominantly Georgian.

"Fortunately, no troops from the peacekeeping post located in the village were injured. The Ural vehicle was damaged," he said.

Ruslan Kishmaria, an Abkhazian presidential spokesman, said the attack was carried out by an armed group supported by the Georgian security service.

He said the blast had a force of 4 kg of TNT equivalent.

09.14.208  RIA Novosti

Sochi, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia did not ask and would not ask any country to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

In an interview with Le Figaro on Saturday, Putin said, “As for recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, we didn’t ask or aren’t going to ask anyone to do this. Under the norms of international law, it’s enough one country to recognise independence of the other state to make a new subject of international law to exist.”

Answering a question if Moscow was disappointed China did not support Russia’s actions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian prime minister replied: “Not at all. We aren’t disappointed with such position. Moreover, we understand the priorities of foreign and domestic policy of the People’ s Republic of China and we don’t want to make it in the intricate situation.”

In his words, Russia “told our Chinese partners about it”. “I told them about it when I was in China to take part in opening the Olympic Games. We exonerated them from responsibility in our relations,” he explained.

The Russian prime minister stressed that being independent states South Ossetia and Abkhazia should decide themselves on the access by additional observers to their territories. “We (Russia) don’t refuse that these are independent states. We recognised their sovereignty and independence. In order to deploy any foreign observers on their territories it is necessary to discuss this issue with the governments of these countries. Primarily – with them and not with Russia,” Putin pointed out.

09.13.2008  Itar-Tass

New York, (RIA Novosti commentator Dmitry Gornostayev) - Will Abkhazians and Ossetians come to the session of the UN Security Council in New York? Or, rather, will the Americans let them come?

These questions might seem of little importance, but Moscow and Washington are approaching them with great seriousness. They are all the more important now that the Western public, particularly the thinking public, is gradually giving up the primitive accusations of "imperial Russia" for attacking a "small and democratic Georgia," and starting to doubt the wisdom of the policy pursued by their politicians.

It is not the first time that Russia raised the issue of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's participation in a Security Council session, but this is the first time that it is ready to go to any lengths to reach this goal. A more neutral version - to conduct a session in Geneva, was under discussion, but Moscow decided to up the ante, all the more so since it can afford to.

Speaking strictly, as distinct from the case of Abkhazia, the Georgian-Ossetian conflict was not on the agenda of the Security Council or any other UN body until the start of Georgia's aggression on August 8. Even now, this conflict is still discussed as part of "the situation in Georgia", the label traditionally applied to the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict since 1992.

But to discuss the situation in Georgia, the Security Council should listen to all sides of the conflict. Otherwise, how can it make a decision? Apart from the Americans, practically nobody in the Security Council objects to the invitation of Abkhazians and Ossetians. Recently, even the United States has not made any official statements on this score, although not so long ago American diplomats speaking off the record hinted that they would never agree to that. Moreover, there have been no visa denials, traditional for such cases. But no visas have been issued, either.

In just one day, Washington turned down the Russian draft resolution of the UN Security Council to impose an embargo on arms supplies to Tbilisi. But U.S. officials said nothing about the idea to conduct an informal meeting in New York on October 7 or 8. Previously, the U.S. envoy to the UN immediately voiced Washington's official position.

Why is Washington so indecisive now? It looks like its geopolitical Grand Masters are threatened with a fork - either to lose face and allow Abkhazian and South Ossetian diplomats to attend the session, or to give up on the presence of UN observers in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone, because their mandate expires on October 15. Russia made this abundantly clear. Vitaly Churkin, Russian's Ambassador to the UN, said in no uncertain terms that Moscow cannot imagine a situation where the extension of the mandate of the UN observers in Abkhazia will be discussed without the latter's participation. Meanwhile, these UN observers are the only international source of information from the republic. Washington badly needs this information because it has no other sources, except for technical reconnaissance.

Statements by UN observers are no less important for Washington (as well as for Moscow, Sukhum and Tskhinval). The same applies to statements that may be made by UN leaders based on the mission's information. They are all elements of the information war the United States is seriously involved in on the Caucasian front. Winning the sympathy or loyalty of UN observers is no less important for the United States than receiving information from them on the location of Abkhazian and Russian troops.

But all these opportunities will disappear if the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia is not extended. Unlike its mandate in Kosovo, this one is not permanent. Russia will simply veto the relevant resolution if the American visa is not put into the Russian passport of the Abkhazian representative. The Ossetian case is more complicated, but Abkhazia will be enough for a start.

This has become a tough game. The United States is exploiting its huge advantage as a host country. Russia will have to reply, making it embarrassing for its opponent. It will do this with a heavy heart, because acrimonious quarrels will not help resolve the problem.

For a long time, Moscow tried to compromise with Washington. It agreed to many things, like the participation of representatives from Kosovo (not a UN member) in sessions of the UN Security Council. Russia noted that there is a format allowing Security Council members to communicate with representatives of states that have not been recognized by the UN (the formula of Diego Arias, the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN who headed the Security Council during the beginning of the war in Bosnia). Moscow pointed out that the UN itself has officially recognized Abkhazia as a side in the conflict, and spoke about double standards in dealing with Abkhazia and Kosovo, but the Americans were adamant.

In this match, the capital pieces of U.S. commitment to principle were defended by numerous pawns in the dorm of U.S. consular staff. They do not have to explain visa denials.

After Russia's latest move, nobody is even asking about reasons for denial, and this is why the pawns have become useless. Washington should either give up its principles, or lose a source of information and influence.

There are some unsportsmanlike options, like overturning the board, or stealing a rook. But the flag on the clock has not yet fallen, and this is still the opening debut.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

09.12.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russia may sign friendship and cooperation agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia early next week, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"I want to reassure you that the signing of agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid between Russia and Abkhazia and South Ossetia will take place in the nearest future, probably early next week," Andrei Nesterenko said.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26, two weeks after it had expelled Georgian troops from South Ossetia following Tbilisi's August 8 military offensive against the republic.

The diplomat added that all the documentation was nearly ready for signing.

Russia earlier this week established diplomatic relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and pledged substantial economic and military support. The majority of those living in the disputed republics are Russian passport holders.

Nesterenko also said that Russia and Abkhazian and South Ossetian republics are also currently working on draft military cooperation agreements that are aimed at ensuring stability and security for the residents of both regions.

Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba said that the issues concerning the agreements and diplomatic ties would be discussed during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Abkhazia and South Ossetia on September 14-15.

"Lavrov's visit to Abkhazia will take place on September 14. He has scheduled meetings with the Abkhaz authorities and representatives of the UN secretary general in Sukhum," Shamba said.

The Abkhaz minister said it is highly likely that the cooperation agreement will be signed in Moscow on September 17.

Murat Dzhioyev, the South Ossetian foreign minister, said the Russian minister will mainly discuss bilateral ties, adding that "This is Lavrov's first visit to Abkhazia and South Ossetia."

09.12.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance agreements may be signed between Russia and Abkhazia, as well as between Russia and South Ossetia next week, spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko told a press conference in Moscow today. He noted that the documents had already been drafted and that there remained only some technical details to be finalized before the accords were ready to be signed by the countries' leaders. Nesterenko added that military cooperation agreements were also being prepared, saying that their aim was to ensure the security of Russian citizens in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

09.12.2008  RBC

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit South Ossetia and Abkhazia on September 14 and 15, RBC was told by the ministry. According to diplomatic sources, Lavrov will hold bilateral meetings with the leaderships of the two republics and meet with representatives of international organizations. As diplomatic relations between Russia and the two republics have already been established, a closer look on the situation is needed, and a location needs to be selected for a Russian embassy in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the ministry noted.

Furthermore, Lavrov is scheduled to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki today. The Ministers expect to discuss bilateral relations, as well as the international agenda, including the Iranian nuclear program.

09.12.2008  RBC

MOSCOW, The secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolai Bordyuzha, said on Friday the issue of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s accession to the organization can be resolved after all member-states of the CSTO recognize these republics.

“No applications from South Ossetia and Abkhazia on their accession to the CSTO have been received,” he told a news conference.

09.12.2008  Itar-Tass

Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, SADR) is going to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia before the end of 2008. According to a REGNUM source in the SADR Parliament Chairman Mahfoud Ali Beyba's encirclement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia is having intensive consultations with Parliament and the Polisario Front, SADR ruling party, about the procedure of recognition of this new country. Most likely that at the nearest congress the Front will recognize Abkhazia as a sovereign state and before the end of this year SADR will establish diplomatic relations with it.

As it was already reported by REGNUM, up to 90% of the territory of Western Sahara recognized by the United Nations and 80 countries in the world as independent country is currently annexed by the neighboring Kingdom of Morocco. The Foreign Ministry of Russia in its turn expects that Morocco will recognize Abkhazia. In this regard the REGNUM source in SADR noticed that Western Sahara representatives prefer to deal directly with the new countries, as they say. The next consultations round should be held this October in Spain. Also in the near future Polisario's representatives plan to establish work contacts with South Ossetia.

As REGNUM reported before, in early August 2008, the UN on the example of SADR practically abandoned the international law in resolving conflicts. In his interview to the Spanish Pais newspaper, UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Peter van Walsum referring to the prospects for statehood of SADR protection from Morocco annexation said: “It is necessary to comply with the international law, but also it is necessary consider political realities in this particular case … Of course you can get a moral satisfaction from your support of those on whose side the law is, but you need understand that there you risk giving false hopes and prolonging the agony.”

09.11.2008  REGNUM

Abkhazia is looking to attract investors with sandy beaches, 220 days of sunshine every year and an airport that once served as a backup landing pad for the Soviet space shuttle.
 

“We are ready to talk to any country, organization or firm,” Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh said.
 

Abkhazia and another republic, South Ossetia, broke away from Georgia following the Soviet collapse. Abkhazia has lived in poverty and oblivion after winning de facto independence in a 1992-93 war against Georgia, with no county agreeing to recognize it.
 

Abkhaz residents said Russia’s decision on Aug. 26 to recognize Abkhazia’s independence gives them a long-sought opportunity to revive their lush region on the Black Sea coast as a top tourist destination.
 

Scars from the 1990s war are everywhere and become more visible closer to the capital, Sukhum, where whole apartment blocks stand gutted like in South Ossetia’s capital, Tskhinval, where fighting ended only a month ago. Sukhum’s ruins have stood untended for 15 years.
 

“Nobody wants to invest when there is instability,” said Zurab Marshan, deputy chief of staff for the Abkhaz government. “Even our compatriots in Moscow have been waiting, not wanting to invest.”
 

Local officials said they had neither the money nor the materials to reconstruct buildings or build new ones, and some families are living in damaged homes.
 

“Reconstruction is not going easy,” Bagapsh told foreign and Russian reporters on a recent Kremlin-organized tour of the two republics.
 

“The most important thing for us is to fix schools and hospitals,” said Leonid Lakerbaya, a senior Abkhaz official.
 

He said only three schools had been reconstructed over the past 15 years. “The other 174 are in an awful or semiawful state,” Lakerbaya said.
 

The war and subsequent sanctions have all but squashed Abkhazia’s investment opportunities, and catching up with prewar levels promises to be difficult.
 

Three million tourists a year used to visit the region before the war. “That’s a number that Abkhazia can only dream about now,” said Sharova, a tour guide with the Gagra Travel Bureau, a local agency.
 

No one keeps figures now for tourists, many of whom are Russians and slip over the border from the nearby Krasnodar region. Sharova estimated that 1 million tourists now vacation here every year.
 

Sukhum’s airport used to handle 37 international flights before the war. The only international flights these days are the occasional Russian cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid.
 

But the airport is still “super,” Lakerbaya said.
 

Under the Soviets it was designated as a backup landing pad for the Buran shuttle, and SAS Scandinavian Airlines in 1994 expressed interest in using it as a stopover on flights between Europe and Africa, he said.
 

An immediate task is to launch air links with Russia, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in nearby Sochi might provide business opportunities for the region, too, Lakerbaya said.
 

Industrial enterprises are rare in Abkhazia, which resembles a giant, overgrown garden. Officials hope that tourism, transportation and agriculture will become the region’s economic drivers.
 

With its 220 days of sunshine each year and an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, Abkhazia grows tangerines, kiwis, figs, tea, pineapple guava, eucalyptus and tobacco.
 

Bagapsh said he expected that investment would grow from near nothing to 10 billion rubles ($400 million) by 2011, but that more was needed.
 

At the same time, officials warned that they do not want heavy industries or polluting factories. “We wouldn’t want to turn Abkhazia into a giant construction site,” Lakerbaya said.
 

The drive for economic and political independence in Abkhazia, with a population of 300,000, stands in sharp contrast to South Ossetia, a republic of 70,000 people that wants to join Russia. South Ossetia is rich in mineral resources but has few industrial enterprises, raising huge questions about the sustainability of its economy. An estimated 60 percent of its revenues come from Russia, which has promised to pump $1 billion into reconstruction after the brief war with Georgia last month.
 

The annual budgets for South Ossetia and Abkhazia are comparable in size. Not including the reconstruction subsidies, South Ossetia’s budget for this year is 2 billion rubles, said Irina Gagloyeva, head of South Ossetia’s press and information committee.
 

Abkhazia’s budget for this year is 1.7 billion rubles and it is expected to reach 2.8 billion rubles next year, local administration officials said. In 1994, the budget was 446 million rubles.
 

“We’ve started making money on tourism and agriculture,” Lakerbaya said. “In three to four years everything will be fine.”

09.12.2008  The Moscow Times

New York, The United Nations secretary general said on Thursday he is considering the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, along with a fact-finding team.

"We will explore a possible peacekeeping or other arrangement for Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We are also looking at sending a fact-finding mission to Georgia," Ban Ki-moon said at a press conference.

The secretary general said the fact-finding team would give its evaluation on the humanitarian situation in Georgia and its disputed republics following last month's conflict.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26, two weeks after it had expelled Georgian troops from South Ossetia following Tbilisi's August 8 ground and air offensive against the republic.

09.11.2008  RIA Novosti

Georgia Guilty, Abkhazia President

Moscow, The President of the Republic of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, held Georgia responsible for the genocide perpetrated in South Ossetia.

What happened in Tsinval is the result of what Georgia has been doing in recent times, Bagapsh told Prensa Latina.

"All available armaments at that moment were blasted on the city while it slept, destroying it totally, and what surprised us most is that the media has silenced such an inhumane action," the statesman stated.

"This is an example," he lamented, "of what we have suffered in Abkhazia in recent years, after the wars of the 90s, losing human lives, peacemakers, as a result of terrorist actions, sabotage and permanent provocations from the neighboring nation."

According to Bagapsh, about 400 border patrolmen and soldiers from the Interior Minister have been killed due to explosions and murders.

He said that in the short period in which Georgia was an independent state, before entering the former Soviet Union, it fought Abkhazia and South Ossetia nine times.

The statesman reiterated that President Mikhail Saakashvili and those who gave weapons to Tiflis are mainly responsible for the attack.

Bagapsh called to scrutinize western media assertions that "Russian troops bombed Ossetia territory and Saakashvili defended Tsinval, which does not correspond with reality."

09.06.2008  Prensa Latina

Moscow, An agreement on friendship and cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia is ready and will be signed in the next few days in Moscow, the Abkhaz president said Saturday.

"A big agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance is almost ready, it consists of 32 articles, we have already drafted it. I think it will be signed in the days to come in Moscow," Sergei Bagapsh told a RIA Novosti press conference. "I think it will happen next week."

Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 26, two weeks after it had concluded its operation "to force Georgia to peace." The operation came in response to an attack by Georgian forces on South Ossetia on August 8.

Moscow said hundreds of civilians were killed in the Georgian attack on South Ossetia, and thousands fled the devastated region.

Bagapsh said Russia has prevented a large-scale war in the Caucasus. "What Russia did was done in time to prevent a big war from erupting," he said.

The Abkhaz leader ruled out dialogue with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

"He is unambiguously a political corpse. A person with so much blood on his hands cannot head a state or hold any talks... This is a small tyrant brought up by Americans in the South Caucasus," he said.

"It is impossible to be a democrat for the outside world and a tyrant for one's own country," Bagapsh said.

Bagapsh also said Abkhazia would like to join the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The CIS comprises Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikstan and Uzbekistan.

Russia has now withdrawn its regular troops from Georgia, but insists it can maintain checkpoints in security zones near the regions under the ceasefire deal brokered by France. Moscow has also accused Tbilisi of building up troops near South Ossetia.

Western nations have strongly criticized Russia for its "disproportionate" response to Georgia's attack and the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. NATO-Russia cooperation has also been frozen.

Nicaragua has become the first country after Russia to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Bagapsh added Abkhazia would like to become an offshore zone. "We do not remove the offshore issue from the agenda... We will be getting ready for that," he said.

He said that Abkhazia has everything necessary to become a free economic zone. He said that in line with the world practice, near any great power, there is a small country "with an offshore, where the banking system is developed and through which finances and serious business go."

09.06.2008  RIA Novosti

Russia hopes that the US will not act to prevent South Ossetian and Abkhaz representatives from participating in the upcoming discussions of the Georgia-Abkhazia and Georgia-Ossetia conflicts to be held at the UN headquarters in New York, said spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko. He reiterated that, following current international practice, South Ossetia and Abkhazia have the right to explain their point of view on the recent events in the Caucasus. When asked about the possibility of holding a UN Security Council meeting in Switzerland, Nesterenko expressed concern that the US might not grant Swiss visas to South Ossetia and Abkhazia representatives.

09.05.2008  RBC

Moscow, Abkhazia and South Ossetia should decide for themselves whether they want international observers working on their territory, the Russian foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting with his Belgian counterpart Karel De Gucht that the issue of sending international observer missions to South Ossetia and Abkhazia from the EU or any other organization "should not be addressed to us [Moscow], but to Tskhinval and Sukhum."

Last month Heikki Talvitie, Europe's special representative for the South Caucasus, said the OSCE regional mission in Georgia would be increased from the 100 to 300 personnel.

South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity, however, said earlier that no international monitors would be allowed in South Ossetia, adding that, "We can hold talks with the OSCE, the EU and our friends from the UN only on observer numbers. But the observers will not be working on the territory of South Ossetia, but on Georgian soil."

Lavrov also reiterated the importance of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe making a decision on the deployment of an international police force in South Ossetia to prevent further Georgian attacks.

"We, Russia, believe it is important that the OSCE make a decision on the structure of an international police force. We hope that the European Union will play a leading role in this," he said.

Moscow has laid partial blame for the bloodshed and devastation in South Ossetia on the United States and other Western powers, saying their military backing and political support encouraged Tbilisi to strike.

Western nations have strongly criticized Russia for its response to Georgia's attack and the recognition of Georgia's breakaway provinces, with several countries threatening sanctions and isolation.

09.03.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the world community should ensure security of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“The question, which may be raised by the EU or any other structure to send their observers to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, should be addressed to Tskhinval and Sukhum and not to us,” Lavrov said on Wednesday.

“There are distortions in the version of the plan that we forced Saakashvili to sign – point 6 was signed by Saakashvili in a wrong version ‘ensure security of Abkhazia and South Ossetia’. It is necessary to ensure security of the republics and not to implant it in their territory,” Lavrov explained.

“We believe that this is a open-faced forgery,” Lavrov pointed out.

09.03.2008  ITAR-TASS

Abkhazia has sufficient resources for successful economic development, President of Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh announced at a press conference in Sukhum Sep 2, 2008. He said that Abkhazia is rich with natural resources and fossil minerals — ''we have oil and gas.'' Bagapsh noticed that up to 10 billion rubles is going to be invested in developing the country's economy in the coming two or three years. Besides, he informed, foreign investments is going to be welcomed.

''We are ready to communicate with different organizations who want to cooperate, invest in the development of the resort business, agrarian sector, to take care of the construction business, reconstruction and development of transport infrastructure, etc.,'' Bagapsh said. He reminded that pre-war Abkhazia had a quite developed transport infrastructure.

''The war has inflicted enormous damage to Abkhazia's economy. Blockade imposed by the ill will of Georgia on the post-war Abkhazia became another heavy burden. The unilateral withdrawal of Russia from the economic sanctions regime in March 2008 positively impacted the economic situation in the republic,'' Apsnypress News Agency quotes Abkhazian President.

09.03.2008  REGNUM

Sukhum, Abkhazia will not host new Russian military bases on its territory, the leader of the region recently recognized by Russia as independent said on Tuesday.

"There will be no new bases," Sergei Bagapsh said, adding that Russia's Black Sea Fleet will not be based in the republic either.

"Only units of Russia's ground forces that have always been based here will continue to be stationed in Abkhazia," he said.

The new statement contradicts the Abkhazian president's earlier suggestions. After Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Bagapsh said Russia's Black Sea Fleet could use one of the ports in the republic to station its warships.

A Russian military diplomat said in late August, speaking on condition of anonymity, that Russia had been evaluating the possible deployment of military bases in the Abkhaz cities of Gudauta and Ochamchira and the South Ossetian city of Java.

Russia has always claimed that it closed down its military base in Gudauta in 2001 as envisaged by the OSCE Istanbul treaty, but according to some sources about 400 personnel are still stationed at the base, along with some combat and transport helicopters, various military vehicles, a fuel storage area, and other facilities.

Moscow has never allowed international inspections of the base and has provided no data on suspected stockpiles of arms and ammunition. The Russian military also maintains the Bombora airfield, which is part of the Gudauta base complex.

Russia earlier said it would station 2,142 peacekeepers in Abkhazia and had no plans to boost its peacekeeping numbers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia after it had recognized their independence from Georgia.

09.02.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Georgia is mobilizing commando units near its border with South Ossetia, a senior Russian military official said on Tuesday.

Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26, saying the move was needed to protect the regions after Georgia's August 8 attack on South Ossetia.

"According to our information, Georgian security forces are trying to restore their [military] presence in Georgian populated villages in South Ossetia. With this aim, Georgia is mobilizing its special forces from the interior and defense ministries near the administrative border with South Ossetia," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, said.

He also said that Russia had deployed 19 peacekeeping observation posts in South Ossetia to provide security and stability in the republic, adding that South Ossetian military detachments were also mobilizing near the border to counter any possible Georgian attacks.

Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 8 in an attempt to regain control over the republic, which split from Tbilisi in the early 1990s. Most people living in South Ossetia have Russian citizenship and Moscow subsequently launched an operation to "force Georgia to accept peace." The operation was concluded on August 12.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that Russian support for South Ossetia and Abkhazia envisaged military as well as economic assistance.

09.02.2008  RIA Novosti

Tashkent, It will not be critical for Russia, if other countries do not recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told journalists in Tashkent today. He believes that at the most important thing is that Russia's actions on the territories of the republics would now be legitimate. Putin stressed that Russia would cooperate with South Ossetia and Abkhazia as it does with any other independent state. The official also noted that the recognition of their independence depended on their own actions, indicating that the republics had to form their own foreign policies.

09.02.2008  RBC

Tbilisi, Georgia asked the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on Monday to end Russia's peacekeeping mandate in Abkhazia, one of the two rebel regions that Moscow has recognized as independent, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said Georgia's ambassador to Belarus, David Zankaliani, handed a note to the Minsk-based executive committee of the post Soviet alliance, from which Georgia withdrew during the recent conflict with Russia.

"Georgia has made a decision to end the CIS peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia, which was taking place on the basis of a decision taken by Commonwealth members' presidents in 2003," the ministry said.

Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze signed on August 29 an instruction for Georgia to withdraw from all peacekeeping agreements with the CIS and with Russia.

Russia officially recognized the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 26, saying the move was needed to protect the regions following Georgia's military offensive on August 8 in which hundreds of civilians died and thousands were forced to flee.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced on August 12 that the country was pulling out of the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Georgian parliament approved the decision two days later.

The CIS now comprises Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikstan and Uzbekistan.

09.01.2008  RIA Novosti