COMMENTARY OF THE RA MFA

Head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the South Caucasus M. Kaljurand issued a statement in which she called on the Russian Federation "to fulfill its international obligations and withdraw recognition of the independence of Abkhazia." The MEP's statement was made in connection with and in support of the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the so-called  "Georgia vs Russia" case, concerning the armed conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008.

As you know, Georgian officials have already rushed to call the said decision of the European Court "a historic victory" and almost a prerequisite for the "de-occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia." M. Kaljurand also considers the decision of the ECHR the same way. Meanwhile, the published conclusions of the court turned out to be far from those that were expected to be seen in Tbilisi. Despite this, Georgia and its Western partners prefer to pretend that they have achieved some kind of unprecedented "historic victory."

First of all, attention should be paid to the very procedure of discussion and adoption of the ECHR decision concerning the events in the South Caucasus in August 2008. This "case" was considered without any participation of representatives of the states directly involved in the August events - the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia. The decision of the ECHR itself was delivered in the same dubious way. Needless to say, the practice of issuing such “court verdicts” casts doubt on the objectivity and balance of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

It should be noted that despite the triumphant statements of Georgia and its European partners, the ECHR in its conclusion recognized that the Russian Federation could not be liable under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms for incidents that occurred during the repulsion of an attack of the Georgian army on the peacekeeping contingent and the local civilian population in the period from 8 to 12 August 2008. The court also did not support the statements of the Georgian authorities about the "invasion" of the Russian armed forces into the territory of South Ossetia on August 7, 2008, before the Georgian military attack on Tskhinval.

The Georgian side also failed to prove that the European Convention on Human Rights is applied not only in peacetime, but also in conditions of hostilities. It was recognized that the legal assessment of the actions of the Russian armed forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 8-12, 2008 is outside the jurisdiction of European judges. In addition, the ECHR did not establish a single case of violation by the Russian armed forces of the rights of civilian population during the events of August 2008.

Thus, the Georgian and European victorious reports that appeared shortly after the decision of the European Court of Justice hardly have any serious grounds.In this regard, it is not surprising that Kaljurand's statement in support of the ECtHR decision also turned out to be opportunistic and completely divorced from reality.

The ECHR decision, made at the long-standing insistence of Georgia, once again demonstrated Tbilisi's confrontational attitude, adherence to the continuation of the vicious policy of international isolation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as the complete lack of political will for a mutually respectful, equal dialogue.