NATO Does Not Recognize Elections in Georgia’s Breakaway Abkhazia
James Appathurai, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, released a statement on March 12th about the illegal parliamentary election in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region, saying the alliance does not recognize the so-called polls.
“NATO does not recognize the election held on 12 March in the Georgian region of Abkhazia. This election does not contribute to a lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia,” the statement reads. Moreover, Appathurai says that NATO Allies do not recognize the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia as independent states.
“The Alliance reiterates its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders,” Appathurai stated.
The elections in breakaway Abkhazia, backed by the Russian Federation, were held to elect the 35 members of National Assembly from total 137 candidates. Only locals, who held Abkhazian passports were able to take part in the elections.
Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a special statement, calling the act “another attempt at the legitimization of circumstances that are the consequence of several waves of ethnic cleansing, military invasion, occupation and lasting aggression by Russia against the Georgian statehood.”
By Thea Morrison