Georgia spares no effort to persuade the European Union to officially announce inadmissibility of Abkhazia's independence, Georgian presidential hopeful Mikheil Saakashvili said. "Diplomats are carrying out serious work to urge the EU to declare that it will never recognize Abkhazia's independence. And there is a real chance that the European Union will support our position," he said on Rustavi 2 during a TV dialogue with Georgia Diaspora.

December 11, official Sukhumi called on Europe to put an end to the policy of double standards. "If Kosovo's independence is recognized the same should be done with respect to Abkhazia. Otherwise, Abkhazia will refuse mediating efforts of states which recognize Kosovo but don't recognize Abkhazia," President of the unrecognized republic Sergei Shamba said during a conversation with UK Ambassador to Georgia Denis Keefe, Kavkaz Press reports.