Commentary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia on the Statement of the Group of Friends of Georgia at the OSCE

Commentary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia on the Statement of the Group of Friends of Georgia at the OSCE
6 December 2020 1903

During the December 4, 2020 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, a Group of Friends of Georgia at the OSCE issued a joint statement.

Unfortunately, the statement on the Republic of Abkhazia adopted by Georgia's friends did not reflect the official point of view of the Abkhazian side, which is regularly voiced by representatives of our republic at the Geneva international discussions in the presence of the Co-Chairs from the UN, EU and OSCE. Despite the obvious inconsistency and complete bias of this statement, the OSCE continues to be dominated by the policy of supporting any actions of official Tbilisi. The OSCE member states try not to notice that such a unilateral position discredits the very idea of ​​an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia has repeatedly voiced the legitimate concerns of the Abkhazian side related to the policy of international isolation pursued by Georgia, as well as the increasing interaction of Georgia with NATO. We cannot but be concerned by Tbilisi's stubborn unwillingness to advance in the issue of ensuring the security of Abkhazia by signing a document on the non-use of force between the parties. However, Georgia and its Western partners prefer not to notice the well-founded fears of the Republic of Abkhazia.

In these conditions, the OSCE member states should have heard more meaningful and balanced assessments of the situation in the region, taking into account the views of all parties to the conflict. An impartial approach that could manifest itself in the rhetoric and actions of the OSCE would be a noticeable step towards an adequate perception of political realities in the region. However, in reality, a one-sided politicized position prevails, which only encourages the confrontational attitude of Tbilisi and does not in any way facilitate the establishment of a confidential dialogue between Abkhazia and Georgia.

OSCE representatives participate in the work of the current Geneva format as one of the Co-Chairs. At the same time, the Abkhazian side never had confidence in this regional structure and during the previous negotiation process between Georgia and Abkhazia, which lasted from 1993 to 2008, the Abkhazian side categorically opposed the participation of OSCE representatives in it, as a result of which it was held under the auspices of the UN.

The Abkhazian side continues to be denied the opportunity to speak at any international venues in order to voice its point of view on the current processes. Therefore, we are faced with discrimination and extremely biased approaches on the part of the OSCE and other international structures, which deprive one of the parties to the conflict of the right to vote.

At this stage, it can be stated that the OSCE has completely exhausted its confidence in itself as an objective mediator in the negotiation process and has become an accomplice in the policy pursued by Georgia. Taking into account the current situation, the Abkhazian side reserves the right to demand the exclusion of OSCE representatives from the Co-Chairs of the international Geneva discussions on stability and security in Transcaucasia.

In the event that the OSCE representatives change their extremely tendentious attitude towards the problem of resolving the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and provide the representatives of Abkhazia with an opportunity to speak within the framework of the activities of the relevant OSCE committees, this measure will allow revising the approaches of the Abkhazian side to the activities of this organization.

X

Feedback form

NAME:
E-MAIL:
PHONE:
Your message: