Georgia condemns Abkhazia trip by Russia's Lavrov

Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:24pm EDT

(Adds Lavrov comments on NATO, changes attribution)

By Indira Bartsits

SUKHUMI, Georgia, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russia sent its foreign minister to Abkhazia on Sunday in a show of support for the breakaway Georgian region, a visit that Georgia quickly denounced as a farce.

Sergei Lavrov was the most senior Russian official to go to Abkhazia for at least 15 years. Russia defeated Georgia in a five-day war last month and drew Western condemnation by recognising Abkhazia and another pro-Russian province, South Ossetia, as independent states.

Lavrov held talks with separatist leader Sergei Bagapsh on a cooperation treaty likely to be signed within days.

"This agreement will allow us to determine the presence of the military here," Lavrov told a news conference.

Russia has said under the treaty it plans to base a total of 7,600 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Before the war, it had peacekeeping contingents of about 2,500 and 1,000, respectively, in the two regions.

Lavrov said he would travel on from the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, to South Ossetia for meetings with the separatist administration there.

He said his visit was unconnected to the arrival in Georgia's capital Tbilisi on Monday of NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, aimed at bolstering the alliance's ties with aspiring member Georgia.

Lavrov criticised "inappropriate and not very responsible" statements on Georgia by the NATO boss, who has said the alliance stands by its pledge to admit both Georgia and Ukraine as members one day.

While NATO has set no timetable, the promise has angered Russia, which sees the alliance's expansion into former Soviet states as a threat to its security.



GEORGIA SLAMS VISIT

Georgia's pro-Western government attacked Lavrov's visit to Abkhazia, a small Black Sea region which threw off Tbilisi's rule in separatist fighting in the early 1990s.

"This is a farce," Georgian Foreign Minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili told reporters. "Russia is trying to create the impression that these territories are independent states."

De Hoop Scheffer is coming to Georgia for the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Georgian Commission, set up by the alliance after the war with Russia to underline its support for Tbilisi.

Russia sent in its troops early last month after Georgian armed forces tried to retake South Ossetia. Moscow said it acted to prevent "genocide" against the regions, but Western states accused Russia of a disproportionate use of force.

Russia this weekend pulled out troops from near the Georgian port of Poti, in line with a French-brokered deal to withdraw its soldiers from Georgia proper.

Lavrov's was the first civilian flight to land at Sukhumi's airport for 15 years. Since the separatist fighting in the 1990s, only military and United Nations aircraft have used it.

The Russian foreign minister said he hoped the airport could be used more extensively. Separatist officials have proposed using it as a back-up airport when Russia hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics in the nearby resort of Sochi. (Additional reporting by Matt Robinson in Tbilisi; Writing by Christian Lowe in Moscow; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)



Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.