Shevardnadze says Russia will 'live to regret' rebel recognition

[link to georgiandaily.com]
Shevardnadze says Russia will 'live to regret' rebel recognition

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August 28, 2008

AFP
August 28, 2008 Thursday 2:51 AM GMT

Georgia's former president Eduard Shevardnadze said Russia will live to regret its recognition of rebel regions and called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in remarks published Thursday.

Russia on Tuesday recognized the breakaway Georgian areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, despite strong Western objections, after sending troops into its southern neighbor.

Shevardnadze, who was also a foreign minister of the former Soviet Union, said that Moscow's move would "encourage separatist movements within ethnically diverse Russia."

"They will live to regret it," Shevardnadze told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

"This will lead to discussions to recognize the independence of Chechnya and Dagestan," he added, referring to two regions in the Caucasus that have sought freedom from Russian rule for centuries.

Shevardnadze supported calls raised by some US lawmakers to strip Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held on the Black Sea resort of Sochi, or to boycott the Games if they go ahead.

"Due to this military conflict, the reasons for a boycott are now more than ever," Shevardnadze said.
[link to georgiandaily.com]

Last Edited by Phennommennonn on 08/17/2012 12:41 AM