Русская версияCriticism has come in from across Europe and Asia with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel leading a long list of world leaders
disappointed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's decree
recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on
Tuesday, Aug.
26.
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Merkel said Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected
On a visit to the Estonian capital of Tallinn, Merkel said
Medvedev's decision was "absolutely not acceptable." She added that
the decree contradicts the principle of territorial integrity, a
principle based on the international law of nations and for this
reason it is unacceptable.
The chancellor was joined by the United Nations, the European
Union, NATO and the United States.
Wider implications
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokeswoman, Michele Montas,
said Ban believed the move "may have wider implications for
security and stability in the Caucasus."
"The secretary general regrets that ongoing efforts to find a
common solution within the security council may be complicated,"
she said.
The French presidency of the EU "firmly condemned" the Russian
move as "contrary to the principles of Georgia's independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity." The EU remained
committed to a "political solution to the conflict," it said.
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Medvedev said his decision was in accordance with international law
The Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, all former
republics of the Soviet Union that have since joined NATO and the
EU, also slammed Medvedev's announcement.
Poland, a communist ally of the Soviet Union until the collapse of
communism and now a member of both NATO and the EU, also condemned
the decision.
The Polish Foreign Ministry urged Russia to adhere to an agreement
worked out by Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to end
hostilities in Georgia earlier this month.
Inflames a tense situation
NATO rejected the move as "in direct violation of numerous UN
Security Council resolutions regarding Georgia's territorial
integrity, resolutions that Russia itself has endorsed," Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement. Russia
simultaneously cut a range of military and diplomatic contacts with
the Western military alliance.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the move
"regrettable" while Britain's Foreign Secretary said it "further
inflames an already tense situation in the region."
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Medvedev decree won't add stability to the Caucasus region, the
British prime minister said
Finish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, current chairman of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said
Tuesday that Russia "violates fundamental OSCE principles" by
recognizing the two Georgian separatist regions.
A special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council has been
called for Wednesday, a spokesperson of the Vienna-based
organization said.
Minsk's support fervent, Kiev's tepid
But members of parliament in Belarus, a neighbor and ally of
Russia, supported Moscow's decision.
"I think it was an absolutely correct decision," said Sergei
Kostian, a member of the parliament international affairs
committee. "All responsible people should support Russia, so as to
put an end to the unilateral influence in the world of the US and
the EU."
In Ukraine, another former Soviet Union republic, political leaders
were divided.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the head of the opposition
Regions party and a Moscow ally, said, "Ukraine should respect the
will of the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia."
He compared the status of the two regions to that of Kosovo and its
separation from Serbia. Ukraine should recognize the independence
of both regions, Yanukovych said.
But Arseny Yatseniok, a close ally of Ukrainian Viktor Yushchenko,
criticized the Kremlin, saying it was up to the United Nations to
rule on the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
(Deutsche Welle)
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