Russia accused of annexation attempt

Quote: Georgia accused Russia on Wednesday of seeking to annex parts of its territory after Moscow said it would establish official links with the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
David Bakradze, Georgia’s foreign minister, condemned the move as a breach of international law and an “attempt to legalise the de facto annexation process taking place in Abkhazia”.
“We will respond using all diplomatic, legal and political tools,” Mr Bakradze told the Financial Times after an emergency meeting of the Georgian security council. “We will ask for a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council.”
In Brussels on Wednesday, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato secretary-general, said: “I am deeply concerned by the actions Russia has taken to establish legal links with the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” He noted that Nato allies had reiterated their support for Georgia’s territorial integrity at a recent summit.
“The Russian steps undermine that sovereignty,” he said. “I urge the Russian Federation to reverse these measures, and call on the Georgian authorities to continue to show restraint.”
Moscow’s foreign ministry insisted the move was a peaceful step aimed at lifting restrictions hindering social and economic development in the Caucasus region. Russia was “not choosing [the path of] confrontation with Georgia”, it added.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin, Russian president, signed a decree instructing the government to co-operate with the “de facto” authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in economic, trade and other areas, and to recognise some documents issued by them. It said the foreign ministry should look at providing consular services to the regions’ residents.
Although Russian-Georgian relations had recently improved with the partial lifting of a Russian transport blockade on its southern neighbour, Moscow’s move left the two countries again on a potentially dangerous collision course.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are home to ethnic minorities where separatist movements sprang up in the early 1990s, leading to bloody wars with Georgian forces, ended by uneasy ceasefires. They retain self-declared independence from Georgia, and are run by separatist governments.
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia has waged an unsuccessful campaign to re-integrate them since coming to power in the 2003 “Rose” Revolution. He accuses Russia of hindering that process and attempting a “creeping annexation”.
Russia had hinted it might recognise the two regions in response to Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in February. It has so far stopped short of this. But weeks after Kosovo’s move, it lifted sanctions on Abkhazia that had been agreed by the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1996. Georgia said these mainly related to arms movements, but Russia said they covered broader economic relations.
The Russian foreign ministry characterised Mr Putin’s decree as a logical next step after lifting the sanctions. It said measures for further co-operation would be prepared “in the interests of the social-economic development of these republics, and defending the rights of the populations living in them, including Russian citizens”.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c67dda8-0bd8-11dd-9840-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

.