Another characteristic of statehood

Definition of Russian-Abkhazian and Russian-South Ossetian state borders will start this year as reported by the Russian President's Special Representative for delimitation and demarcation of the state border with adjacent CIS states Alexander Golovin on February 17.

Execution of agreements on location of state border is stipulated by the treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to Golovin as Interfax reports the definition of Russian borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a totally internal affair and does not involve recognition of third states. "In any case it is certain about land borders. Agreements on their location will have international status", - he concluded.

It will be remembered that Alexander Golovin took office late in January. According to Russia's Foreign Ministry's report the new special representative's work priority will be legalization of borders with new South Caucasian republics recognized by Russia.

Before that Russia had faced numerous problems trying to delimit borders with Georgia for 12 years. In particular, Tbilisi laid claims to Roksky tunnel connecting Russia an South Ossetia and dozens square kilometers of the Black Sea basin. Apparently at that time Tbilisi did not want to take into account that the basin adjacent to Sochi belonged to Russia as set forth in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Georgia's "rights" to Roksky tunnel that is serviced by the Russian army and is also considered part of Russia were quite doubtful too.

As was remarked by the chief adviser to the Foreign Ministry Vadim Postnov chairing the committee for delimitation and demarcation of borders with Georgia, in his interview with Vedomosti, the Georgian side had been constantly laying groundless claims and no agreement on delimitation of the border had been settled. Now with Russia's definition of borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia these disputable issues must be solved once and for all. "We hope that now there will be fewer questions and we and our friends will solve them promptly", - Postnov stated.

In his turn the head of Abkhazia's Foreign Ministry Sergey Shamba expressed his confidence that there would be no problems with definition of borders with Russia both on land and at sea. According to him "though there have been no delimitation talks with Russia yet, - Newsru.com reports, - there has never been any conflict connected with the use of the sea between Russia and Abkhazia".

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