The Russian Foreign Ministry has denied having reached an agreement with Georgia on joint control of the border between Russia and breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It has also denied assuring Tbilisi that Moscow would “never recognize Abkhazia or South Ossetia.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on February 27 that the issue of joint border control was being discussed in the frames of the Georgian-Russian negotiations on Russia’s WTO-entry terms.

“During these discussions we have made it clear from the very beginning that joint customs control at the Gantiadi-Adler border crossing point [in Abkhazia] and at Roki [in South Ossetia] depends on the resolution of the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts and on the consent of Sokhumi and Tskhinvali, whom we have kept informed all along. We hope that our Georgian partners understand this,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

President Saakashvili said on February 26: “You know that we had negotiations with the Russian government and the Russian government agreed to joint control of Psou [at the Abkhaz-Russian border] and Roki Tunnel border crossing points and customs checkpoints there. We still don't have the technical details, how this measure will be implemented. But this is already a huge step forward and a breakthrough.”

He also said on the same day that separatist leaders had been left “empty-handed” as Russia did not recognize the breakaway regions following Kosovo's independence. In separate remarks made on February 22, a day after his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Saakashvili said: “The Russian side indicated clearly that it would not recognize either South Ossetia or Abkhazia.”

“The unresolved conflicts were not discussed in detail during the brief meeting between the [Georgian and Russian] presidents and no “assurance” of this kind was given [by Russia to Georgia],” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “The Russian side did confirm that it would not ‘copy’ the illegal actions of some western states, but the unilateral declaration and recognition of Kosovo’s independence would be taken into consideration in our future policy. At the same time we also noted that Russia would continue to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflicts by taking into consideration the opinions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that official Georgian statements, including those of President Saakashvili, “had created a deceptive view,” giving the false impression that Russia was striking “backstage deals” to the exclusion and detriment of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.