UN Envoy Meets Abkhaz Leader

UN Secretary General?s Special Representatives to Georgia Heidi Tagliavini met with President of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh in Sokhumi on June 6, the news agency Regnum reported.

 

The details of forthcoming talks in Moscow on June 15-16, which will focus on implementation of the 2003 Sochi agreement, were discussed during the talks in Sokhumi.

 

The Sochi agreement envisages the return of internally displaced persons to Abkhazia, the resumption of a railway via Abkhazia and the rehabilitation of the Enguri hydro power plant.

 

Regnum also reported that Heidi Tagliavini pushed the issue of opening a UN human rights office in the predominately Georgian-populated district of Gali, in the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia. However, the Abkhaz side opposes this plan, citing that a UN human rights office already operates in the Abkhaz capital Sokhumi.

 

?There is no necessity to open a UN human rights office in Gali since the Abkhaz law enforcement agencies are doing their best to improve the crime situation in the region,? Regnum quotes Bagapsh as saying.

 

The UN envoy also stated that the Georgian and Abkhaz sides are scheduled to meet in mid July to discuss security issues.