Vanuatu Recognizes Abkhazia!!

Tuesday, May 31 in Port Vila, the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu formally announced that it recognized the Republic of Abkhazia as an independent state.  

The Republic of Vanuatua, formerly known as the New Hebrides, became independent in 1980 from joint British and French rule.  Vanuatu has a population of approximately 243,000 in an archipelago of 65 inhabited islands that range about 800 miles from north to south in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 miles off the northeast coast of Australia and west of Fiji.  The nation pursues an independent foreign policy and believes that Abkhazia has the right of self-determination.

Vanuatu will likely be only the first of many smaller nations to recognize Abkhazia in the coming months.  The news follows the sad announcement Sunday of the death of Abkhazia's President, Sergey Bagapsh, in Moscow. But it also shows that Vanuatu's recognition is not tied to any one leader in Abkhazia, but to Abkhazia itself and the course of independence and development the nation has set.

For those who question how the recognition of Abkhazia by Vanuatu was achieved, it was strictly through diplomatic efforts.  Congratulations to the Republic of Abkhazia on this important step!