Georgia’s President calls on international community to prevent annexation of Abkhazia

The ‘Alliance and Strategic Partnership’ treaty signed between Russia and Georgia’s breakaway region Abkhazia is a step towards annexation of Georgia, President Giorgi Margvelashvili announced today.

Margvelashvili held a special press conference where he responded to signing of the document condemned by Georgia and the international community. The President noted this action put the stability of the Caucasus region in danger and would bring the Russia-Georgia negotiations to a deadlock.

"This step creates new challenges for Georgia and for our partners in Europe, as well as around the whole world,” he said.

Margvelashvili noted the document violated principles of international law and it would "practically turn Abkhazia into a part of Russia”.

"We should understand that if Russia does not get an adequate answer to this issue, its expansion and annexation policy will have a future. This policy should have a resistance,” he said.

"We call on the international community to unite around our anti-annexation policy. We believe discussing this problem in large-scale forums is very important. Today we need unity, strength and wisdom,” Margvelashvili said.

In his statement, Margvelashvili said he believed Georgian society had the resources to unity and make the right steps. He said the most important thing was to hold a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting and raise this issue with the Council of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, NATO and other forums.

"With this aim, I call on political parties, society, research centers and political organisations to unite and together use all platforms through which we will be able to speak more loudly on this issue and reach the international community. I want to stress that the Abkhazians, their identity, their cultural future is in a danger as well,” he said.

Margvelashvili also stressed the importance of holding discussions with the refugee population, who used to live in Abkhazia. In addition, he asked the Georgian Patriarch and leaders of all religious confessions existing in Georgia to use their authority to make joint efforts to prevent the assimilation of small nations.