Shevardnadze Against Withdrawing Russian Peacekeepers from Abkhazia

(Tbilisi, September 2, 2002, Civil Georgia) – Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is against withdrawing Russian peacekeepers from the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone. In spite of that he states that Russians should by all means be replaced by peacekeepers from other states.

“Our country is not yet ready for new realities in the conflict zone. Replacement of the peacekeepers is the first problem to be solved”, President stated and went on to say that neither the UN nor any other country than Russia is ready to deploy its peacekeeping forced in Abkhazia.

The President pointed out that in case the conflict zone is left without peacekeepers, illegal armed groups will give no peace to the local population.

Georgian Parliament issued a statement last week supporting the idea of Russian peacekeepers’ withdrawal.

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