We have read the statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Malta to the UN Francesca Gatt on behalf of the members of the UN Security Council – France, Japan, Malta, Slovenia, Great Britain, the USA, as well as next members – Denmark and Greece, which, in particular, states that the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia are “an integral part of Georgia”, and also calls on Russia to reverse its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The template phrases about the alleged “territorial integrity of Georgia”, repeated with enviable frequency, demonstrate the complete lack of an objective perception of the situation in the Transcaucasus among certain representatives of the international community and show their complete bias in matters of resolving the protracted crisis in our region.
In this regard, it is once again to be reminded that the Republic of Abkhazia is a sovereign state whose statehood goes back for many centuries. The Abkhazian people in the historical struggle against Georgian colonialism and as a result of many years of national liberation struggle against Georgian aggression managed to defend their legitimate right to freedom and independence. At the same time, the people of Abkhazia acted in full compliance with the fundamental principle enshrined in the UN Charter - the right of all peoples to self-determination.
Unfortunately, we are forced to state with great disappointment that some representatives of the so-called international community interpret the fundamental principles of international law to suit their own opportunistic interests.
It is necessary to especially emphasize that the people of Abkhazia consolidated their unshakable will for independence through a referendum on October 3, 1999, which approved the Constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia, adopted in 1994 and proclaimed the Republic of Abkhazia a sovereign, democratic, legal state, historically established by the right of the people to free self-determination. On October 12, 1999, based on the results of the referendum, the People's Assembly - the Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia adopted the Act on the State Independence of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Once again, we appeal to the representatives of the international community, who continue to live in captivity of artificially created illusions, to finally accept the objective reality that has developed in our region.
We call on the international community to recognize the results of the expression of the will of the people of the Republic of Abkhazia, realized by them in full compliance with the norms and principles of international law and to recognize the political realities that have developed in Transcaucasus, in which the Republic of Abkhazia is an independent state.