Head of Georgian Orthodox Church Slams Russia’s Rhetoric

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2008-02-17 18:34:35

Ilia II, the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, said Russian “threats” to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia after Kosovo’s independence were “unacceptable.”

In a sermon on February 17, Ilia II said: “Russia threatens to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali [the capital of breakaway South Ossetia] I want to say that although Georgian public opinion very often is diverse, on this particular situation everyone, including the people, opposition and the authorities, are united and have one opinion: Georgia has been and should remain a unified state. I have told representatives of the Russian authorities several times that separatism is like a transmittable disease and everyone should remember this, including Russia. I highly respect Russian culture, science, its history and philosophy, but we should say the truth that this kind of rhetoric towards Georgia is unacceptable.”

SOURCE: