Hansjorg Haber, the head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia believes that by recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia lost the leverage on Georgia.
As he noted in his remarks at the 76th NATO PA Rose-Roth seminar in Tbilisi, the current situation is far from normal, with Russia at a loss as to how to regain influence over Georgia.
“During Geneva talks, Russia was attempting to shift from its role as a conflicting party to that of a ceasefire guarantor by raising the issue of Georgia’s signing the agreement of non-use of force with Abkhazia and Ossetia. I think that won’t happen, as the idea of Russia’s not being a conflicting party is absurd,” Mr. Haber said.
As he noted, at present the conflict settlement process is up against a deadlock.
