MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will never
withdraw its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's
independence, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said
on Thursday.
"All MPs meeting at PACE, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly should operate on the
premise that it is pointless to suggest that a reversal is
possible. Russia has recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and
that is for all time," Boris Gryzlov said.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia were recognized as independent
by Russia last August following Georgia's assault on South
Ossetia and Moscow's five-day military operation to force
Tbilisi to peace. Nicaragua soon followed Russia's lead in
recognizing the republics, but no other country has done so.
In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, PACE condemned
Moscow's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, but stopped short of imposing any sanctions against
Russia.
The Assembly reiterated the call for Russia to withdraw
its recognition of the two breakaway republics.
Gryzlov said nothing would force Russia to change its
position, adding that it was "useless" to make such appeals.
"We have repeatedly stated during meetings with MPs from
other countries that there is no going back," he said.
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