UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The Foreign Ministry of Russia, which recognizes the sovereignty of Georgia’s former regions, accused Tbilisi last week of tabling a "blatantly politicized" draft resolution on refugees and internally displaced people at the 34th UN Human Rights Council.
"Geneva discussions on security and stability in South Caucasus are a well-established format for settling conflicts between Georgia on the one hand and Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the other … If Georgia and its patrons continue dragging security discussions to New York in absence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, this could be the end of Geneva discussions," Ilyichev said after Tuesday's talks.
Iliichev stressed that the situation in South Ossetia is stable and should be dealt with within the framework of the Geneva talks and not at the UN Security Council
"The situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia is not a conflict situation and hardly should the Security Council divert its attention in order to consider this issue," Iliichev said. "The Geneva Discussion on Security and Stability in the Transcaucasia proved to be an effective platform for addressing the differences between Georgia from one side and Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the other."
Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared independence in the early 1990s. In August 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against South Ossetia, where many held Russian passports, prompting Russia to interfere.
A five-year war with Russia led to a pullout of Georgian troops from the breakaway region and recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Moscow. The United States does not recognize their claim and has prevented republics’ officials from coming to UN assemblies in New York.
