The Hungarian Foreign Ministry regrets that the Russian President signed the decree recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia - Statement of the ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary learned with regret that the Russian President signed the decree recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhasia and that state Duma, in a call to the parliaments of the members of the United Nations and to the international parliamentary organizations initiated the “recognition of Abhazia and South-Ossetia as sovereign and independent states”.

The foreign ministry’s position is that these decisions do not serve the stability of the Caucasus region and do not advance negotiations over a settlement of the very conflict which has produced severe humanitarian and material consequences. The unilateral initiative of the Russian parliament - of a Russia which earlier defined itself as an independent external peacekeeper - cannot serve as a legal basis on which to settle the issue. Nor does its content or spirit accord with the extant agreement between the European Union President and the President of the Russian Federation, which has the widespread support of the international community.

The Republic of Hungary, as a member of the European Union and NATO, firmly stands by the position that this conflict can and must be solved through dialogue and by peaceful means, respecting the territorial integrity of Georgia and its internationally recognised borders.

(August 26, 2008)