They appeared unlikely partners from the outset — a Pacific Ocean archipelago and a rebel-held ex-Soviet conflict zone on the shores of the Black Sea, thousands of kilometers distant.
And, like many odd couples, their relationship rapidly descended into farce.
The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu became caught up in a diplomatic dispute when it was reported last month to have recognized Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, about 14,000km away, as an independent state.
Having no known links to Abkhazia, it was unclear why Vanuatu decided to become the fifth country to recognize the Russian-backed territory, which fought a bloody war to break away from Georgia in the 1990s and remains a potential flashpoint in an unresolved conflict.
The confusion escalated further when the Vanuatu’s ambassador to the UN denied shortly afterward that it had even happened.
Vanuatu was also involved in a similar controversy in 2004, when it recognized Taiwan as independent, before reversing its decision after several weeks under pressure from China.
Officials in Abkhazia, who portrayed the decision as a “historic” event, responded by publishing what they said was proof: What appeared to be an official agreement signed by former Vanuatu prime minister Sato Kilman.
A video statement from Vanuatu Foreign Minister Alfred Carlot was also posted on YouTube, showing the diplomat dressed in a flowery shirt confirming the move as part of an attempt to “eradicate colonialism from the face of the Earth.”
However, on Friday, Georgia struck back, circulating what it said was a letter signed by newly appointed Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapei saying that the decision had been reversed after a change of government in the Pacific state.
“The fact is that the majority of the world’s governments consider Abkhazia as part of Georgia’s territory,” the letter said.
A report in the Vanuatu Daily Post on Monday appeared to corroborate that, stating that Natapei had “canceled and withdrew Vanuatu’s recognition of the so-called independent state of the Republic of Abkhazia.”
However, despite this, the Vanuatu government’s official Web site on Monday continued to carry a statement confirming the recognition. After the confusion began, an opposition lawmaker in Vanuatu said that the debacle had become a “diplomatic embarrassment for the country.”
“It does no good for the reputation of Vanuatu,” lawmaker Joe Natuman told Radio New Zealand International earlier this month.
Despite high hopes in Abkhazia of a new ally in the Pacific, the small Black Sea coastal region is still only recognized by Russia and three other countries with links to Moscow: Nicaragua, Venezuela and the island of Nauru.
However, there was satisfaction among Georgian officials, who have formalized diplomatic ties with a series of smaller countries around the world over the past year as part of attempts to head off any further recognitions of Abkhazia.
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