How to End the Territorial Conflicts in Georgia: An International Law Based Mediation Proposal for Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Abstract

In this article, I present a proposal for an international law-based formula to mediate territorial conflicts, and apply it to the separatist cases in Georgia. While the situation there is notably more stable than in some other post-Soviet conflicts (i.e., Russia and Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan), it is important to note that these ‘frozen conflicts’ can become quickly unfrozen and heat up in violent aggression. Thus, while a ceasefire between the conflicting parties has held for 14 years, the conflicts in Georgia need a definitive political solution that is simultaneously based on a legally solid compromise. In this article, I use my formula to propose such a compromise to the Georgian territorial questions that fit into the contemporary international legal framework concerning territory. Naturally, any realistic solution will require concessions on every stakeholder. In short, the formula offers for Georgia the return of its territorial integrity, for Abkhazia internal self-determination in the form of a meaningful territorial autonomy, for South Ossetia a recognition of a set of strictly limited cultural and language rights, and for Russia a position as a guarantor state. All these proposals are based on international law.