Secretary-General of the United Nations
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
Chairman of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS
President of the Kazakhstan
Mr. Nursultan A. Nazarbaev
OSCE Chairman- in-Office
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain
Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Mr. Terry Davis
Excellencies!
The peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia follow closely the developments around Kosovo. Should this region secede from Serbia and be recognized independent, it will yet again testify convincingly to the fact that the settlement of inter-ethnic conflicts is not only based on the principle of territorial integrity of States. Realization of the right of peoples to self-determination, provided there is evidence that they are capable of managing their own lives and ensuring development in accordance with the universally recognized democratic norms, might prove the only means of peaceful settlement of conflict situations.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are no less eligible for seeking self-determination than Kosovo. After having defended their national identity by force of arms, our peoples have been making their own efforts to strengthen their statehood, develop their democratic political system, market-based economy, legislative basis, independent judiciary and civil society and promote human rights in accordance with international norms for many years. At the popular referendums, which took place in Abkhazia in 1999 and South Ossetia in 1992 and 2006, the overwhelming majority of the population favored secession from Georgia.
In case of a "Kosovo precedent", we will act in a still more determined manner and demand observing unified standards in dealing with similar conflict situations. We cannot turn a blind eye on the fact that the leaders of Georgia pursue an openly provocative policy towards our republics, breach outrageously the existing arrangements and decisions of the UN Security Council and the OSCE on negotiation and peacekeeping mechanisms, establish puppet "parallel structures" in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, refuse to commit themselves to an exclusively peaceful settlement of conflicts and prepare force operations.
On behalf of the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia we call upon the United Nations, the CIS, the OSCE and the Council of Europe to cut through the Gordian knot of protracted conflicts and facilitate recognition of independence of our States.
We kindly request that this letter be brought to the attention of your organizations members.
President of the Republic of Abkhazia President of the Republic of South Ossetia
Sergei Bagapsh Eduard Kokoity
4 June 2007
