The international community does not include Abkhazia and South Ossetia, says Georgia

Debate over the participation of the de facto leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the international discussions planned for Geneva on October 15 is already excluded, the head of the Parliamentary Committee for International Relations, Lasha Zhvania, stated in response to the Russian statement regarding the de facto Presidents’ attendance at the Geneva talks.

Zhvania says that the participation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the conference will not be countenanced, as it is impossible for Abkhazia and South Ossetia to take part in discussions about international relations. “Neither Abkhazia nor South Ossetia are considered to be part of international relations, as they have put themselves outside the framework of ordinary international relations,” Zhvania stressed.

The Government of Georgia is also saying that Russia should not be involved in the talks either as long it is an occupier, confronted by the EU and the international community over the continued presence of its troops in Georgia. “Russia has lustrated itself politically by sending troops to Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Zhvania stated at a session of the Parliamentary Committee for International Relations, adding that “the so called peacekeepers are already considered to be occupation troops by the international community.”

Commenting on the recently announced Russian Federation plan regarding the deployment of 3,800 military personnel from the Russian regular armed forces in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Zhvania stressed that “Russia is thus continuing its occupation of Georgia, therefore the reaction from the international community should be immediate.”

In the midst of extremely tense relations with Russia, Zhvania hopes that, after its decision regarding the Ukraine, the EU will also hasten the process of endorsing Georgia as an Associate Member of EU. “Ukraine is one of the major partners of Georgia and the success of Ukraine makes us hope that the same concessions will be offered to Georgia in the near future,” Zhvania said, pointing to various statements already being made by EU representatives.

On September 11 Lasha Zhvania will leave for Poland, where he will participate in an international conference dedicated to the role and importance of Christianity. According to Zhvania, the conference has huge significance and Euro MPs and the President and Prime Minister of Poland will take part in it. “The conference has three sections and one of them will be totally dedicated to Georgia,” Zhvania stressed.