Abkhaz Leader Hails Russian Peacekeepers

Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh said on February 7 that the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the Abkhaz conflict zone under the aegis of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are fulfilling their mandate and “maintain stability in the region,” the Apsnypress news agency reported.
 
“We do not consider the possibility of replacing the peacekeeping troops deployed in the conflict zone with another, so-called ‘international force’,” Bagapsh said.
 
He said that even if the Russian peacekeepers leave the conflict zone, they will be replaced by the Abkhaz armed forces, which “will control the situation on the border with Georgia.”   
 
According to a resolution adopted by the Georgian Parliament on October 11, 2005, the government should report to the Parliament about the situation in the Abkhaz conflict zone by July 1, 2006. If there is no progress being made by that time, the Parliament will demand that the peacekeepers begin pulling out, starting from July 15, 2006.