Moneybiz
Friday, October 03, 2008
advertisements
TBILISI (Moneybiz) - Somalia has no intention of recognising Georgia's rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent, despite earlier claims to the contrary, Georgia said today.
"The Somali side has ensured us that the government of Somalia recognises Georgia's territorial integrity and respects its sovereignty," foreign ministry spokeswoman Khatuna Iosava told AFP.
In Moscow on Wednesday, Somalia's ambassador to Russia, Mohammed Mahmud Handule, said his government was "preparing to establish diplomatic relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia as soon as possible."
So far, only Russia and Nicaragua have recognised the independence of the two Moscow-backed regions, which lay at the centre of last month's war between Russia and Georgia.
Moscow's decision to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia provoked condemnation from around the world, which views the territories as part of Georgia.