Abkhazia tries novel pitch for recognition

I've got to give Abkhazia's parliament credit for trying a novel pitch to get their land recognized as an independent country - they tried playing on Ireland's national pride and sense of history in an appeal they made to Ireland's parliament. Their statement read in part:

"The Irish Free State, which eventually became the Republic of Ireland, was de-facto independent for a long time, but remained unrecognized. Ireland was the only unrecognized country in Europe until the world's largest country recognized a free parliament of Ireland. And that country was Russia. Abkhazia is in the same situation today. For 15 years Abkhazia existed as an independent, although unrecognized, state.”

Abkhazia has been claiming independence from Georgia since the early 1990's, and has established its own government and judicial system operating free of Georgia’s influence, but no other country recognized their claim until after the Georgian conflict in August.

Since then Russia and Nicaragua have recognized both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries. But two countries out of 200 or so in the world doesn't lend a place too much legitimacy.

I doubt that Ireland is going to be calling Abkhazia a nation in its own right anytime soon, but recognition from Ireland is a big step up from the rogue's gallery of places thinking about recognizing them.