Rodina faction to promote international recognition of Abkhazia

Members of the Rodina faction of the Russian State Duma accompanied by representatives of Krasnodar Region visited Abkhazia, Dmitry Rogozin being head of the delegation.

"There is no document today certifying that Georgia and Abkhazia form one state," Abkhazian Vice President Valery Arshba said during an official reception. Mr Arshba emphasized that Abkhazian people considered Russia a guarantor of their independence and safety. The vice president addressed head of the Duma faction Dmitry Rogozin with a request to initiate debates in the State Duma about the proposal to establish associate relations made by the Abkhazian president and parliament.

In his turn, Dmitry Rogozin said that "since the first day of its election, the group has put the question of seeking a final resolution of the problem of Abkhazia and South Osetia's political status." "Being the assignee of the USSR, Russia has to give Russian passports to Russian citizens living in Abkhazia," the deputy said. Mr Rogozin expressed a wish to open a representative office of the Rodina faction in Abkhazia.

Dmitry Rogozin announced to the Abkhazian public the intention to create a joint working group from deputies of the Russian State Duma and the Abkhazian parliament which would work out specific ways of solving problems existing in the Russian-Abkhazian relations. The deputies of the Rodina faction promised to take the initiative to consider and prepare a reply to the appeals of the Abkhazian leadership concerning the recognition of the republic as an independent state. "You've expressed you will through a referendum, and this will must be recognized. And the legal registration of this recognition is business of lawyers and parliamentarians. Only when Abkhazia is recognized, we will really be able to reach the second stage, that is to say to determine the republic's status within the Russian Federation," Mr Rogozin said.