Syria Recognizes ‘Independence’ of Georgian Occupied Regions
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, May 30
The government of Syria has recognized the independence of breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry confirmed the step on Tuesday, stating that the recognition came after the support Abkhazia and Tskhinvali showed to Syria when the country was being attacked by terrorists.
The official statement reads that Syria intends to open embassies in both of the occupied regions.
The government of Georgia strongly condemned the fact, stating that the decision is illegal, contradicting the international law.
The Georgian political expert Levan Geradze says that Syria’s decision will change nothing, as the international community is unanimous over the status of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
“The Syrian government is fully dependent on Russia and they do what Russia says,” Geradze said.
Analyst Korneli Kakachia claims that Syria is the first Arab country to recognize the regions as independent states.
“ I hope that Syria’s recognition will not encourage other Arab countries to do the same,” Kakachia said.
Anatoly Bibilov, the de facto leader of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali region, says that the international recognition of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali is “inevitable.”
“It is impossible to stop the process of recognition of South Ossetia. We will gradually have a full recognition of our independence," Bibilov told the Tass news agency.
The puppet leader says that they are ready for "any talks" with those countries, which are potentially ready to recognize the region as an independent state.
Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru have recognized Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states in the wake of the Russia Georgia war in 2008.
Vanuatu and Tuvalu were also in the list; however, they withdrew their recognition in 2009 and now say that the regions are integral parts of Georgia.
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part, and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian armed forces and North Caucasian militants. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasus and Cossack militants and from the Russian forces stationed in and near Abkhazia.
Between 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians became refugees or were internally displaced. About 2,000 are missing.
Among the missing about 1,500 are ethnic Georgians, up to 200 are ethnic Abkhazians and about 100 are ethnic Ossetians.
101 bodies have been identified and transported to Georgia over the course of last years.
The Russia-Georgia 2008 war happened between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war, 20,272 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remained displaced.
35 Georgians and 6 Ossetians remain missing since the war.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that they are actively working with the international community to prevent the recognition of the Georgian regions as independent states.
The United States made a decision last year to cut financial aid for those countries, which would recognize the Georgian regions as sovereign countries.
After the step Nauru lost the financial aid from the United States.
