Georgia accuses Russian State Duma of interference

MOSCOW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Georgia on Monday accused the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, of trying to interfere in its internal affairs by recognizing the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The statement made by the Russian State Duma Friday violated the norms of international laws and the basic principles of the UN Charter, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The State Duma's call on the Russian president and the government to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia makes Georgia angry and uneasy, the ministry pointed out.

Georgia's territorial integrity is recognized by the international community, the norms of international laws, and relevant documents of the United Nations, the ministry said, adding that Russia had lost its grounds to mediate the issues of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on an impartial basis politically, legislatively and morally after the State Duma approved the statement.

The State Duma's call on the Russian president and government to reinforce peacekeepers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia is offensive, the ministry said.

If the reinforcement is put into practice and the mandate of the peacekeeping mission is shifted unilaterally without the permission of the Georgian authority, the ministry warned that Georgia will regard the move as an invasion of a sovereign state.

The Russian State Duma proposed in the statement Friday that Russia recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Lawmakers said it is necessary to protect people in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, most of whom are Russian passport holders, from a possible invasion by Georgia and Georgia's accession to NATO.

Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia were involved in bloody conflicts with Georgia after proclaiming independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Shortly after Kosovo declared its independence on Feb. 17, Abkhazia and South Ossetia asked Russia's parliament, the United Nations and other organizations to recognize their independence.