On the actions of the Russian leadership in unilaterally recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. U.S. State Department statement. Statement by democratic politicians and public figures. The Russian leadership has made an unforgivable mistake by announcing the unilateral recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Such a decision will lead to a further escalation of tensions in the Caucasus and in the world as a whole, a sharp deterioration in Russia’s international standing, and additional costs for all the peoples involved in the conflict. First, the declaration of the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is hypocritical, since these territories are occupied by Russian troops and their political leadership is completely subordinate to Moscow. Under such conditions, it makes no sense to speak of real independence backed by guarantees of national sovereignty—it would be more accurate to speak of Russia’s annexation of these territories. Second, this step does not bring any closer, but rather pushes further away, a real determination of the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. As the example of Kosovo shows, a unilateral declaration of independence did not secure broad international recognition for Kosovo. The “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be recognized by no one except Russia and, perhaps, a couple of marginal dictatorial regimes. Thus, the Abkhaz and South Ossetian peoples are doomed to years of stagnation without any real status under international law. After many years of isolation, they will likely have to return to negotiations on reunification with Georgia, as happened with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized by no one except Turkey. Third, a powerful blow has been dealt to international law. The bombing of Georgia and the unilateral recognition of the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have shown what the Russian leadership’s rhetoric about international law is really worth, as well as its criticism of the American invasion of Iraq or the unilateral recognition of Kosovo’s independence. Russia’s rulers have shown their true face, demonstrating that in reality they themselves do not respect international law, including their own obligations (in particular, UN Security Council Resolution No. 1808 of April 15, 2008, in which Russia once again confirmed its recognition of Georgia’s territorial integrity), using criticism of the Iraq war or the West’s recognition of Kosovo merely as a pretext for pursuing an anti-Western foreign policy. As a result of these steps, the Russian leadership has lost any moral grounds for criticizing the actions of other countries that violate international law. Fourth, Russia has dealt a heavy blow to its relations with other countries. Instead of measures to restore dialogue and strengthen mutual trust with Western countries, we now face a slide into confrontation with unclear and probably grave consequences for Russia. Moscow’s undisguised desire to carve off pieces of neighboring states’ territories will inevitably provoke growing distrust of Russia among those post-Soviet countries where separatist tendencies already exist or may emerge. Georgia and Ukraine will probably accelerate their accession to NATO, and in the future possibly other countries as well, above all Azerbaijan. Fifth, the hotspot of tension around the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia has been aggravated for a long time to come. In one stroke, the Kremlin has excluded diplomatic means from the possible ways of resolving the problem of Georgia’s territorial integrity—now Georgia can invoke international legal grounds in seeking additional means to defend its sovereignty. It cannot be ruled out that it will try to resort to military assistance from other countries. In the future, Russia risks being drawn into new wars. Today, in order to avoid the worst-case scenario, it is necessary to: — ensure Russia’s return to the framework of international law and strict observance of the peace agreements reached on August 12, 2008, in Moscow with the participation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy (including the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory in accordance with the terms of those peace agreements); — put an end to provocations and obstruction of the diplomatic process and negotiations among Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia on peacefully finding ways to resolve the problem of the unrecognized territories. Members of the coordinating group for convening the All-Russian Congress of Democratic Forces: D. Bilunov, executive director of the United Civil Front I. Yermolenko, chairman of the Samara regional branch of the Yabloko party G. Kasparov, chairman of the United Civil Front O. Kurnosova, chair of the St. Petersburg branch of the United Civil Front V. Milov, politician B. Nemtsov, politician M. Reznik, chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Yabloko party A. Ryklin, journalist, politician L. Ponomaryov, executive director of the movement For Human Rights Y. Samodurov, co-chair of the All-Russian Civic Congress Source I would like to express my respect to Comrade Yashin and Comrade welgar, who refused to sign this filth. I would like to express my regret that Comrade v_milov and Comrade Bilunov did sign it. I would like to express my satisfaction that the crafty belyh dodged signing it, slightly shafting the whole gop-company (thuggish crowd). To everyone else, I express my sympathy, given that they have been unable to obtain funding in an easier and more decent way.