`U.S. will never recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states`: Biden
02.02.13 14:49
U.S. will never recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, - U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden told the international gathering of top diplomats and defense officials at the annual Munich Security Conference.
He said Washingon and Moscow "have serious differences on issues like Syria, missile defense, NATO enlargement, democracy, human rights."
"These differences are real," he said at the start of the second day of the event, "but we continue to see opportunities for the Unites States and Russia to partner in ways that advance our mutual security interest and the interest of the international community."
Speaking just days after the new U.S. administration began its second term, he also restated Washington`s position that it does not recognize spheres of influence. He cited the case of two breakaway Georgian republics whose independence Russia recognized following its brief war with Georgia in 2008.
"The United States will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states," Biden said. "We will not recognize any nation having a sphere of influence. It will remain America`s view that sovereign states have the right to make their own decisions and choose their own alliances."
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