United States reject presidential election in Abkhazia

The Government of the United States does not recognize the presidential election in Abkhazia, since the United States consider it to be part of Georgia, said Jen Psaki, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 24, Abkhazia held the early presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the turnout reached 70%, and Raul Khadjimba won the election by gaining 50.57% (50,494 votes). On August 25, the Abkhaz CEC declared Raul Khadjimba to be elected President of Abkhazia and Vitaly Gabniya, who was running in tandem with him, as elected Vice President.

"The United States is not recognizing the legitimacy of the so called presidential election in Abkhazia on August 24 and will not acknowledge the outcome," the "Interfax" quotes Jen Psaki as stating.

The Government of the United States still considers Abkhazia as a part of Georgia and urges Russia to withdraw "its forces to pre-conflict positions" of 2008 and to reverse its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, the "ITAR-TASS" reports with reference to Jen Psaki.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the election in Abkhazia is not recognized by Azerbaijan, the countries of the European Union (EU), Georgia, and Turkey. Prior to the election, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has declared that Russia will respect the election outcome.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.