The group of UN Security Council member states, including the United States, Britain, France, Ireland, Norway and Estonia, issued a statement demanding that Russia withdraw its troops from Abkhazia and reconsider its decision to recognize the republic's independence on August 4 this year. "Today we again call on the Russian Federation... without delay to withdraw its troops and security forces as well as to reconsider the recognition of the so-called independence of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region of South Ossetia," the document says. The document was also signed by Albania, which will soon receive a seat on the UN Security Council. The statement is timed to coincide with the 13-th anniversary of the events of August 2008.

It is regrettable that over the years, the signatory states have not realized the irreversible changes that have taken place in the Transcaucasia since the tragic events of August 2008. However, this circumstance has no effect on the new political realities in the region, which was a logical outcome of the adventurist course taken by Georgia's then leadership.

The decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the independence of the Republic of Abkhazia is not the subject to revision and is final. It should be recalled that the decision to recognize the independence and to establish the diplomatic relations is a sovereign right of the participating states in international relations. The exercise of this right does not contravene international legal norms and does not require the consent or approval of other states. It should also be emphasized that the recognition of the Abkhaz state was a natural stage in the process of the realization by the people of Abkhazia of their legitimate right to the national self-determination. The aspiration of the Republic of Abkhazia to acquire the state sovereignty has both historical, moral and legal justification.

By denying the people of Abkhazia the right to self-determination and a sovereign statehood, Western countries are following the vicious practice of double standards and instead of jointly seeking solutions to existing contradictions, they prefer to listen only to the point of view of the Georgian side.
It is necessary to understand that endless appeals with demands to withdraw recognition and other unacceptable conditions cannot affect the situation in the region after 2008. Only an adequate and constructive position related to the interests of the Republic of Abkhazia can testify to a real understanding by the international community of the aspirations of the people of Abkhazia.