Moscow, (Lev Dzugayev, member of the RIA Novosti Expert Council) - The new architecture of the European Union, its expansion, and Russian-American ties are among the most frequently discussed issues in international relations.

They are directly connected to geopolitical events, which sometimes provoke justified concern.

I am not referring to "Polish meat imports," or the United States' protectionist policies, or Russia's unwillingness to sign the Energy Charter under unacceptable conditions.

I am deeply worried that some forces are trying to reopen Pandora's box, boldly thinking that they can deal with the consequences which promise disasters.

Europe has seen this before. It has suffered the shame of the Munich Agreement, which Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and Edouard Daladier signed with Nazi Germany in 1938. It paved the way for the Soviet-German non-aggression pact signed by Russia's Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and his German counterpart, Joachim von Ribbentrop, in 1939.

In 1938, Western Europe, trying to keep Hitler away from its borders, settled on the "appeasement" policy, although the Munich Agreement gave Germany the Sudetenland starting October 10, and de facto control over the rest of Czechoslovakia as long as Hitler promised to go no further.

In 1939, just 20 years after World War I, Europe was shaken by another global catastrophe. Western military historians put the blame for the Second World War on Soviet Russia, saying that the non-aggression pact it signed with Germany (a year after the Munich Agreement) led to the partition of Poland (which, I'd like to remind you, had taken part in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia the year before).

One of the lessons we have overlooked is that by ignoring the principle of cause and effect, we provoke new conflicts between countries.

Who has pulled out of the ABM Treaty? Who has not ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe? Who is stubbornly moving towards the Russian border despite promises not to expand NATO eastward? Not Russia. Why put the blame on it then? This reminds me of what a Russian fable writer said: "The weak against the strong is always in the wrong."

This is why so many Western forces dislike Russia, which is struggling to regain its position on the global scene and the right to express its opinions, primarily about its own future.

The Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial on June 11, 2007: "Mr. Bush's principled stand on behalf of a small European nation's right to self-determination and freedom is America at its best in Europe. Not least when in the process Washington pushes back against an authoritarian leader in the Kremlin with neo-imperial designs on the Continent's eastern half."

But when President Vladimir Putin spoke up in defense of the rights and freedoms of Abkhazia and Ossetia, his position was described as destructive and neo-imperial.

According to an article entitled "Europe must now stand up to Russia over Kosovo" (Financial Times, May 25, 2007), "Independence (...) is the non-negotiable demand of the overwhelmingly ethnically Albanian population."

Why then is the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia negotiable, even though they demanded it at least seven years before Kosovo, while all the other circumstances are the same?

The Canadian Globe and Mail wrote on June 12, 2007: "No matter how fervently Serbians might wish it were otherwise, Kosovo is no longer part of their country. Serbian troops departed eight years ago, forced out at the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's bombing campaign. Since then, the territory has been administered by the UN and its security has come from a NATO-led peacekeeping force. The Albanians of Kosovo are nearly unanimous in their determination never again to be under Belgrade's thumb. It does not matter that Serbia has embraced democratic reforms or that it might be open to granting significant autonomy over local affairs."

Now, let's replace some of the words in the above quotation, and here is what we get:

"No matter how fervently Georgians might wish it were otherwise, Abkhazia (or South Ossetia) is no longer part of their country. Georgian troops departed nearly 15 years ago, forced out at the end of a campaign waged by Abkhazes and North Caucasian volunteers who supported them. Since then, the territory's security has come from a Russian-led peacekeeping force and UN and OSCE observers. Abkhazes (or Ossetians) are nearly unanimous in their determination never again to be under Tbilisi's thumb. It does not matter that Georgia has embraced democratic reforms or that it might be open to granting Abkhazia (or South Ossetia) significant autonomy over local affairs."

See the difference? No? Not surprising, for there is none. Why is the Kosovo situation unique then? Because it is located in the Balkans? Abkhazia and South Ossetia are located in the Caucasus, but this should not be important in terms of international law.

However, "there are no parallels to be drawn between the UN-administered Kosovo and such troubled regions as South Ossetia in Georgia," according to The Globe and Mail.

Yes, parallels must be drawn between the two areas. A Russian-led peacekeeping operation, which began 15 years ago, stopped the war between Georgians and Ossetians and prevented new ethnic clashes in the conflict zones. The Georgian enclave in South Ossetia lived peacefully by and large, and the two sides gradually restored trust, thanks to Russian peacekeepers' mediation.

However, the situation exploded in 2004, after Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia and acted on the recommendations of his "friends."

Meanwhile, an anti-Serb cleansing campaign was carried out in Kosovo, a UN-administered territory whose "security has come from a NATO-led peacekeeping force." Hundreds of thousands of Serbs fled their homes, and dozens of monuments of Serbian culture were destroyed. It is not surprising, therefore, that Western experts studying the situation in that province ask themselves what lies in store for Serbs, death or flight.

The G8 countries reportedly agreed at their summit in Germany that the Serbs and the Albanians of Kosovo should be given some time to continue talks. But several days later, U.S. President George W. Bush made it clear in Tirana that the only reasonable political solution for Kosovo was independence: "At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say enough is enough, Kosovo is independent."

According to The Financial Times, "The answer then is for European governments to bury any misgivings and, to borrow the cliche, stand shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. Germans need to talk less about the risks of confrontation with Russia, more about bringing to a permanent end the cycle of violence that began with Berlin's recognition of Croatia. [I find the latter phrase rather interesting, as we had been told before that it was Serbs who started the wave of violence] Spaniards, Greeks and the rest should forget about precedents. The stakes are too high to be held hostage to hypotheses.

"Rather, European governments, individually and collectively, should tell Moscow that, regardless of any Russian posturing at the UN, they intend to carry on with the process of moving Kosovo towards statehood. There will be no room for temporizing."

It appears that the U.S. will reject Putin's proposal to jointly use the Gabala radar in Azerbaijan, and will deploy its early warning radar and anti-missiles in direct proximity to the Russian border.

This reminds me of Emperor Augustus' last words: "Acta est fabula, plaudite!" (The play is over, applaud!).

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said upon returning from Munich in 1938: "My good friends, for the second time in our history a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time." Everyone knows what happened after that.

"This is the hour of Europe," cried M. Jacques Poos, the foreign minister of Luxembourg, when the fighting broke out in Yugoslavia in 1991. Now even the West admits that the violence that ensued was largely provoked by the hasty recognition of independence of some of Yugoslavia's constituent republics.

So what is it to be this time? Europe's hour or, once again, Europe's shame?

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

06.20.2007  RIA Novosti

Sukhum, Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Sergei Shamba said on Monday the adoption of the UN Security Council’s resolution on the settlement of Georgian-Abkhazian conflict does not mean automatic resumption of negotiations with Georgia.

“Georgia should fulfil the UN Security Council resolution of October 2006 that says that Georgia should withdraw its troops from the upper part of the Kodor Gorge and demilitarise this zone,” he told journalists in his comments on the UN Security Council resolution of April 13.

Shamba believes that “the presence of the so-called Abkhazia’s autonomous structures in the upper part of the Kodor Gorge provokes the situation and escalates tensions in the conflict zone.”

“Abkhazia will return to the negotiating table only, when Georgia fulfils provisions of the Moscow agreement of May 14, 1994 (on ceasefire and separation of forces – Itar-Tass) and withdraws its autonomous structures,” he said.

Shamba described as a positive factor the fact that “the UN Security Council members continue to insist on signing an agreement on international security guarantees, which Abkhazia is interested in.

04.16.2007  Itar-Tass

An American refusal to let Abkhazia speak before the United Nations this week meant that only its opponent Georgia was heard. Instead, Abkhazia was forced to send its opinion via a videotaped statement. The message urged the UN to recognize the independence of Abkhazia, Transnistria and South Ossetia.

New York, In a fourteen minute videotaped statement distributed on DVD, Abkhazia's Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba appeals to the United Nations Security Council, urging the Council's members to seriously consider the independence aspirations of Abkhazia and fellow post-Soviet states Pridnestrovie (Transnistria) and South Ossetia.

" - All possibilities for a compromise have been exhausted. It is time that the Security Council and the international community objectively evaluated and considered the current situation. And the situation is such that for 14 years after the war we were building an independent and democratic state in difficult conditions and under different sanctions and embargoes and have greatly succeeded in this. Abkhazia is demonstrating a progressive movement on the path of building an independent and democratic state."

According to the Foreign Minister, in 1931 Abkhazia was forced into Georgia against the will of its people. This was done by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin - himself a Georgian. Shamba also said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the process of formation of independent states has not yet been completed.

" - The recognition of independence of Abkhazia and other republics such as South Ossetia and Transdniestria would be a logical conclusion of this process," said Shamba, referring to Pridnestrovie by one of the names which it is more commonly known under in English.

Status settlement talks going nowhere

According to Abkhazia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, "regrettably, the negotiation process has ended in a stalemate." This is Georgia's fault, because last summer, the Georgian side deployed armed forces in the Kodor Gorge in violation of all previous agreements that had been reached between the sides.

Shamba urged diplomatic realism and an acceptance of the fact that talks between the sides are going nowhere. During fourteen years of mediation, no solutions have been found regarding political settlement, return of refugees and economic recovery of the region.

He explained why Abkhazia finds it impossible to live in a joint union state with Georgia, pointing to a number of developments that can be characterized as a consistent policy of Georgian leaders aimed at actual genocide of the Abkhazian ethnos. Said Shamba: "It was a period when the Abkhazian people was denied its identity and being physically eliminated, a period of planned, thought-out and well-implemented attempts to assimilate the Abkhazian people."

US visa denial politically motivated

Abkhazia has officially been recognized as one of the parties to the conflict. It participated in a recent UN meeting in Geneva, on equal terms with Georgia. Yet when the time came to speak at the UN in New York, the host country - the United States - refused to grant a visa. No such problems were encountered in Switzerland.

At the United Nations it was well known that the US decision was politically motivated. Just a week earlier, the United States had welcomed the presence of Kosovo at the United Nations, despite the fact that Kosovo is less of self-governing entity than Abkhazia.

" - Accordingly, it would be logical to suggest that, if an appropriate and objective decision is to be taken, an impartial mediator should hear the views of both parties," said Abkhazia's Shamba in his videotaped statement, delivered in absentia. "Based on this understanding, we repeatedly called upon the UN Security Council to give us an opportunity to explain our views and our position to the Council members. Unfortunately, the UN Security Council has not yet found it possible to consult both parties, which makes us think that the UN has not become an equidistant party."

The DVD of Abkhazia's appeal has been distributed to all 192 member country missions of the United Nations.

04.13.2007  Tiraspol Times

Sukhum, President of the Republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh was brought to a cardiological department of the Sukhum Clinical Hospital on Monday, suffering from a bout of stenocardia, presidential spokesman Kristian Bzhania told journalists.

Bagapsh had a high blood pressure with symptoms of stenocardia. At present, his blood pressure has stabilized and returned to a normal level. The symptoms of stenocardia have disappeared. The president’s condition has normalized, the spokesman said.

Sergei Bagapsh remains in hospital under medical observation.

04.09.2007  Itar-Tass

Sukhum, Sergey Bagapsh, president of Abkhazia, is scheduled to pay a visit to Turkey from April 21- 25, when he plans to meet with the Abkhaz diaspora in Turkey, the Istanbul-based Caucasian-Abkhazia Solidarity Committee has announced.

Bagapsh is not expected to have any talks with Turkish officials while in Turkey, the committee also noted as their request for scheduling talks between Bagapsh and Turkish officials had yielded no results.

"The president will also address Abkhaz nationals residing in Turkey, asking them to return to Abkhazia," Anzor Mukba, chairman of the State Committee of Repatriation Foundation, had earlier said.

At the time, Mukba also said that "this year the volume of the Repatriation Foundation founded by Abkhaz Secessionists has collected up to $570,000. This sum is designed to provide the return of Abkhaz Mohajirs to Abkhazia, namely, it will be spent on purchasing and repairing houses for the returned Abkhaz Mohajirs."

04.09.2007  Today's Zaman  Ankara

Moscow, A summit of the heads of the republics of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transdnestr, scheduled for April 10-11, has been cancelled due to the poor health of the Abkhaz president, the Abkhaz foreign minister said Monday.

Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh was hospitalized Monday following an attack of stenocardia.

"The summit of the heads of the three republics, scheduled for April 10-11, will not take place," Sergei Shamba said. "On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the three republics will gather for a meeting, while we will postpone the summit of the presidents."

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council will consider the situation in the upper part of the Kodor Gorge and study the possibility of extending the mandate of the UN observer mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for another six months next week. The UN Secretary General will deliver a report on the situation in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone.

But the United States has once again failed to issue visas for an Abkhazian delegation wishing to take part in the session of the UN Security Council.

Vladislav Chernov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's envoy on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, said last week that Moscow regarded the move as "discrimination against one of the parties in the conflict."

Last year, Russia protested the U.S. refusal to grant an entry visa to Shamba, who has Russian citizenship.

Shamba was to have attended a UN Security Council meeting in New York to discuss the situation in Georgia.

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a Russia-sponsored resolution urging Georgia to desist from provocation in Abkhazia and extending the Russian peacekeeping mission in Abkhazia until April 15, 2007.

Russia retains a peacekeeping presence in Georgia's turbulent regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which gained de facto independence following bloody conflicts after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Georgia's leadership accuses the Kremlin of supporting the breakaway regions' drive for full independence.

A resolution adopted August 31, 2006 stressed the importance of close cooperation between the military observers of the UN mission to Georgia and the CIS peacekeeping force as key stabilizing factors in the Abkhazian conflict zone. The UN observer mission has operated in the region since 1993.

The Kodor Gorge in northern Georgia, controlled by Abkhazia in its lower section and Tbilisi in the upper part, has been at the center of tensions between Georgia and Abkhazia since late July, when Georgia conducted what it called a police operation there to disarm a rebellious militia leader.

Russia has insisted on the withdrawal of Georgian troops from Kodor, saying it is crucial for the revival of talks with Abkhazia.

04.09.2007  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Dniester Region appealed on Monday to the United Nations, OSCE, EU and CIS to help prevent bloodshed in these republics and contribute to the strengthening of peace.

The statement was made at the second plenary session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of these three republics, which have formed the community “For Democracy and People’s Rights”.

The general secretary of the assembly, Grigory Marakutsa, said “all kinds of crimes against peace and humankind can be traced in actions of the Georgian armed forces on the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Moldova’s armed forces on the territory of the Dniester Region”.

The deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council upper house of parliament, Alexander Torshin, for his part, told Tass that “according to reliable sources, acts of ethnic cleansing have taken place in unrecognised republics, and we shall look into them and make necessary decisions”. However, “a view of that issue must be unbiased and objective,” he stressed.

The head of the department for inter-regional and cultural ties with foreign states under the Russian president told Tass that the process of acknowledgement of genocide of the Ossetian people has already started.

“These days it is being discussed at the legislative level in Russian regions. Documents are already arriving,” Modest Kolerov said.

“There are no doubts that the facts described in these documents, including in numerous books illustrating events of those times, did take place,” he added.

“It is obvious that at the time of conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (1991-1993), there was a selective approach of Georgian nationalism, denying a full-value existence of Abkhazians and Ossetians within the Georgian state,” he stressed.

“The entire ideological foundation of the then regime of Georgian President Gamsakhurdia was basing on denial of the right to national identity,” he said. This is just one step short of genocide, Kolerov emphasized.

04.09.2007  Itar-Tass

Sukhum, “Ukraine and Lithuania cannot act as peacekeepers in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone,” Speaker of the Abkhaz Parliament Nugzar Ashuba said at a news conference today after a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of “For Democracy and Rights of Nations” Commonwealth member-states, a REGNUM correspondent reports.

“There are reliable data that citizens of Ukraine, of its western part, and Lithuania were fighting for Georgia against Abkhazia. How can those countries act now as independent peacekeepers?” Ashuba said.

“We have the same data about Estonian citizens’ participation in military actions against Abkhazia on Georgia’s side,” the Abkhaz parliamentary chair said.

04.09.2007  REGNUM

Moscow, The United States has once again denied an Abkhazian delegation an entry visa to attend a UN Security Council meeting on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, a Russian envoy said Friday.

The UN Security Council will consider the situation in the upper part of the Kodor Gorge and study the possibility of extending the mandate of the UN observer mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for another six months next week.

"The Abkhazian delegation, led by Sergei Shamba, the foreign minister of the republic of Abkhazia, has once again been denied a U.S. visa. So only a Georgian delegation, led by Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, will attend," Vladislav Chernov said.

He said Moscow regards this move as "discrimination against one of the parties in the conflict."

Last year, Russia protested the U.S. refusal to grant an entry visa to Shamba, who has Russian citizenship.

Shamba was to have attended a UN Security Council meeting in New York to discuss the situation in Georgia.

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a Russia-sponsored resolution, urging Georgia to desist from provocation in Abkhazia, and extending the Russian peacekeeping mission in Abkhazia until April 15, 2007.

Russia retains a peacekeeping presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which gained de facto independence following bloody conflicts after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Georgia's leadership accuses the Kremlin of supporting the breakaway regions' drive for full independence.

A resolution adopted on August 31 stressed the importance of close cooperation between the military observers of the UN mission to Georgia and the CIS peacekeeping force as a key stabilizing factor in the Abkhazian conflict zone. The UN observer mission has operated in the region since 1993.

Tensions between Russia and Georgia have escalated since a spying row last September, when Georgia arrested several Russian officers on espionage charges.

The Kodor Gorge in northern Georgia, controlled by Abkhazia in its lower section and Tbilisi in the upper part, has been at the center of tensions between Georgia and Abkhazia since late July, when Georgia conducted what it called a police operation there to disarm a rebellious militia leader.

Russia has insisted on the withdrawal of Georgian troops from Kodor, saying it is crucial for the revival of talks with Abkhazia.

04.06.2007  RIA Novosti

Sukhum, A UN-led group investigating the shelling in March of the upper part of the Kodor Gorge, border between Georgia and Abkhazia, said Tuesday it needed more information to continue the inquiry.

Tbilisi said two helicopters had violated Georgia's airspace March 11 by flying from Abkhazia, and that the artillery shelling had also originated from that direction, accusing Abkhazia and Russia of the attacks, in which no casualties were reported. Moscow and Sukhum denied the involvement.

The group, comprising officials from Georgia, Abkhazia and Russian-led peacekeepers deployed in the Caucasus region since the bloody post-Soviet conflict in the early 1990s, said it expected the involved parties to provide data shortly.

The group held two patrols in the area, interviewing locals, Georgian police and peacekeepers, and examined shell casings to determine the type of weapons used and the shelling direction.

Mutual accusations of violating a ceasefire regime have been frequent from both Abkhazia and Georgia, whose President Mikheil Saakashvili has vowed to regain control of the region. Peace talks broke off when Tbilisi sent troops into Kodor in July and established a parallel Abkhaz administration there.

Ex-Soviet Georgia enjoys strong U.S. backing for its drive to join NATO and hopes membership in the Western military alliance will help it bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia, back to its fold.

Backing Abkhazia's bid for independence, Moscow has argued the region could hope for international recognition if the UN grants sovereignty to Serbia's Kosovo province.

04.03.2007  RIA Novosti