10 July 2010, 23:20
Jagland: Georgia fears recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Europe
On July 9, Turborn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CЕ), said that representatives of the CE have no access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because Georgian leaders fear that Europe may recognize these republics.
"Now we have no agreement between the authorities how to do it. The Georgian ones fear that if we start going directly to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, it will be a creeping recognition," he said.
"So far, there are no proposals on how to facilitate contacts of people from both parties. We'll learn whether it is possible. For this very reason I went to Georgia to discuss it with Georgian authorities. If we mean human rights, Europe should have no 'black holes'," Mr Jagland said on air of the "Echo Moskvy" Radio.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 2 the Secretary General of the CE paid a two-day visit to Tbilisi, where he reiterated that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia are the main points for the СЕ.
