Abkhazia elections to have no legal effect for Georgia, Tbilisi says
TBILISI. March 12 (Interfax) - The parliamentary elections taking place in Abkhazia on Sunday are illegal and must be given international assessment accordingly, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
"Said activities [the elections in Abkhazia] are yet another attempt to legitimize the ethnic purge, the military intervention, the occupation and results of the Russian aggression being carried out against the Georgian statehood," the ministry said.
"Under international law, any so-called elections or a referendum held in occupied territories are illegal and will have no legal result," the ministry said.
"The so-called elections in the Abkhazian region are held against the backdrop of Russia not honoring the obligations it assumed under the August 12, 2008 ceasefire agreement and against the backdrop of the intense militarization of the occupied territories," the ministry said.
"Russia continues the effective annexation of the occupied Georgian territory by way of integrating them into its military, political, economic and social systems," the ministry said.
International community must give "an appropriate assessment of the so-called parliamentary elections being held in Abkhazia," while Russia must "respect the fundamental rules and principles of international law," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.