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Georgia to Call Luzhkov Persona Non Grata after Ukraine
Inspired by Ukraine, perhaps, Georgian parliamentarians suggest calling persona non grata Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. The reason is again the heated rhetoric of mayor, who urged to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The cause of agitation in Georgia’s parliament is Luzhkov’s interview that he gave in St. Petersburg June 7. The mayor urged to recognize independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, reasoning that it was something inevitable and specifying that the nations of Abkhazia and South Ossentia weren't related to Georgia’s nation.
Luzhkov focused on Georgia in a month after his notorious speech delivered in Sevastopol, Ukraine, during the celebration of the RF Black Sea Fleet anniversary. He said Ukrainian ownership of Sevastopol wasn’t spelled out in any binding agreement, and Kiev immediately responded by banning the mayor from visiting Ukraine.
Once a part of Georgian Soviet Republic, Abkhazia claimed independence immediately after collapse of the USSR. Georgia brought troops in August 1992 but only to face the armed opposition. The military conflict ended August 30, 1993, stripping Georgia of its control over Abkhazia, which has been seeking the independence recognition ever since.
No state has recognized Abkhazia so far, while Georgia regards it an integral part of the territory and is ready to grant broad autonomy. Russia’s peacekeepers secure the peace in the conflict area, and negotiations for peaceful settlement of the conflict were suspended in 2006.
South Ossetia was Georgia’s autonomy in the USSR. But Georgia’s first president Zviad Gamsakhurdia cancelled this status in 1991, stirring up a military conflict with South Ossetia. The war continued till 1992 and Georgia lost control as a result of it. South Ossetia has been seeking independence ever since. A mixed contingent of Russia’s, Georgian and North Ossetia’s peacekeepers secure peace in the territory.
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