Aspects of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict 12: Russia's Role: Realities and Myths
We present the 12th volume in the series of Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue conferences that were launched in 1997 by the University of California, Irvine with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Since 2004 participants from Russia and various international organizations have been involved in the dialogue process. The conferences have had bilateral, trilateral and multilateral sessions involving representatives of various international organizations.
This volume includes transcripts of presentations and discussions at a conference held in Moscow, June 28-29, 2005. The conference was organized in cooperation with the South Caucasus and Moscow representatives of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. The main topic was the role of Russian policies in the South Caucasus in the context of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and Russian, Georgian and Abkhaz discourse on domestic issues. Discussions reflected serious differences of opinion among the participants about the realities and assessments of Russian policies in the South Caucasus. Participants expressed different opinions about whether these policies were in the best interests of South Caucasus countries and Russia. The controversies showed that the topic is relevant to all parties. The fact that no agreement was reached on many of these issues indicates the need to continue the discussions because joint analysis of complex regional issues from different perspectives can promote better understanding.