Sokhumi Thanks Putin for Support

On December 27 Prime Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Nodar Khashba welcomed a statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 23, when the latter compared the situation in Georgia’s secessionist provinces to the situation in Kosovo.

?For the first time in many years, the Russian leadership took a serious stance towards the Abkhaz problem. This happened for the first time. The processes which are currently being developed are helping us and we should be grateful to the Russian President, who understands those problems which we are currently facing so well, for this. And the Russian President has never spoken about the necessity of Abkhazia?s accession into Russia. There is only development of Abkhazia as an independent state on the agenda. This [position] is voiced for the first time by the serous leadership,? Nodar Khashba said at a news conference in Sokhumi, the Abkhaz news web site Abkhaziya.org reported.

While speaking at a news conference on December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “Why should we pretend not to notice the processes going on in the world and in Europe?  Yugoslavia has disintegrated and the entire world has recognized the new independent states.  Everyone repeatedly said no to Kosovo?s independence, Kosovo will never be independent and should remain part of Yugoslavia.  But what is going on in practice? Kosovo has in fact seceded and everybody pretends that they do not see this and have heard nothing about this.”