Moscow ‘Respects’ Abkhaz Polls

As expected, Moscow has stopped short of recognizing the March 4 parliamentary elections in breakaway Abkhazia but said it “respects” the polls, which “were a continuation of the democratic trends that were observed during the recent local self governance elections” in Abkhazia on February 11.

“Russian society, media sources and non-governmental organizations respect the elections in Abkhazia, as holding of polls and referendums represents the highest expression of the people’s will regardless of status of the territory on which they [polls] are held,” Mikhail Kaminin, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a press statement on March 6.

“As for the issue of whether or not to support the Abkhaz elections, which foreign partners are focusing on, under the current conditions it is a matter and the responsibility of local citizens,” he added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry official also stressed that “the expression of the people’s will in Abkhazia cannot serve as an obstacle to international efforts toward reaching a just and long-term resolution of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.”

Mikhail Kaminin noted that although full and complete information about the March 4 elections is not yet available, judging from the reports by, as he put it, “the international observers” on the ground, the polls were held “in a calm and organized atmosphere, with high voter turnout.”

“It confirms the population’s aspiration to express its opinion over the issues vital for Abkhazia,” he said, adding that no problems were reported in the Georgian-populated Gali District of Abkhazia.

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Merab Antadze said on March 7 that Russia’s reaction to the Abkhaz elections was not equal to “recognizing the polls as legal.”

“This was just an attempt by Russia to describe developments there [in Abkhazia] as democratic processes, which is absolutely groundless against the background of the fact that almost half of the population, and not only ethnic Georgians, have been expelled [from Abkhazia],” Antadze told reporters.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement comes after the European Union, NATO and the United States strongly rejected the Abkhaz elections on March 5.

The U.S. and EU stressed in separate statements that thousands of internally displaced persons were unable to participate in the polls.

The U.S. Department of State said displaced persons from Abkhazia remain unable to exercise their right to return to their homes in Abkhazia “following ethnic cleansing” during the armed conflict in early 90s.

“These ‘elections’ underscore the plight of more than 200,000 persons displaced by the conflict,” the U.S. Department of State said.

“The European Union holds the view that elections in this region of Georgia can only be valid after all refugees and internally-displaced persons are given the right to a safe, secure and dignified return to their homes,” the German Presidency said in a statement on behalf of the EU.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on March 5 that he does not consider these elections “of any relevance because… the NATO allies are strongly committed to the territorial integrity of Georgia.”

Foreign Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Shamba said on March 6 that the Western reaction to the Abkhaz polls was not a surprise to Sokhumi.

“This is not the first time that we a hearing this kind of reaction from the democratic states. The fact that democratic states are rejecting the democratic process was a surprise for us initially, but now it is no longer a surprise and we have simply stopped reacting to them… We will continue to hold our elections regardless of the international organizations’ reactions,” Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress quoted Shamba as saying.