Karasin Says Tbilisi Decisions Worsen Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 4
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin continues to accuse Georgia of triggering confrontations.
He says that Despite “kind intentions” and “steps to better future” declared by Tbilisi, the political decisions of the Georgian government lead to worsening relations with Sokhumi and Tskhinvali, with the two occupied regions of Georgia recognized as independent states by Russia.
The statement came after Karasin’s meeting Toivo Klaar, Co-chair of the Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus – EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.
Karasin criticized the next resolution on internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees submitted to the UN and the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list elaborated by the Georgian government, which includes individuals who have violated the rights of the Georgian citizens in the occupied territories of Georgia since the 1990s
The de facto authorities of Tskhinvali stated that the Tbilisi decision on the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list is populist.
"Taking into consideration the permanent unstable internal political situation in Georgia, which has been particularly acute in recent years, we can conclude that Tbilisi has decided to use the death of a citizen of Georgia, Archil Tatunashvili to receive political dividends, which serve the populist interests of the current government," de facto foreign ministry of Tskhinvali says in a statement.
Archil Tatunashvili was brutally killed by Russia-controlled border guards in Tskhinvali on February 23 and his body, without internal organs, was given to his family only after a month from his death.
Another surname in the list is Otkhozoria, referring to a 30-year-old Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria, who was killed by a Russia-controlled border guard with six gunshots in 2015, on the Tbilisi administered territory.
The Russia-controlled Abkhazia’s de facto leadership refuses to punish the man sentenced in absentia by Kutaisi court for the murder.
Abkhazia and Tskhinvali were recognized as independent republics by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria.
The rest of the international community says the regions are integral parts of Georgia.
