Archive - 14/9/2009

The Delegation of Geneva Co-Chairmen arrived in South Ossetia, including the EU Envoy Pierre Morel, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Special Representative Charalampos Christopoulos, UN Secretary General' Special Representative Johann Verbeke, Deputy Director of the UNHCR Udo Janz and others. In Tskhinval, the delegation met with the RSO Foreign Minister Murat Djioev, Special Representative for Post-Conflict Settlement Boris Chochiev, and others.

Question: On 10 September, the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez stated that his country recognizes the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Your comment.

Elbrus Kargiev, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the RF in South Ossetia: The statement of Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, on recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia – is an important political event.
I had repeatedly stated that the recognition of new South Caucasus states by international community is the process the first stages of which we are facing now.
The development of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as states with developing democracy is giving the grounds to the progressive world leaders to make a similar step forward. It is time to recognize that the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia had suffered through their right to deterime their own fate. Russia and Nicaragua showed this understanding already in August and September last year.

The opinion of the UN General Assembly might not coincide with the position of the whole organization, stated the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Johann Verbeke commenting on the General Assembly's Resolution on return of refugees to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Verbeke underlined that UN General Assembly and concretely the UN as such are different things: "The position of the General Assembly does not imply the position of the whole organization. Though we are members to the UN, each one of us reserves the right to work and help people whenever they are".