Georgian-Abkhaz Talks Start in Tbilisi

Foreign Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Shamba arrived in Tbilisi on May 15 to participate in a meeting of the reinstated Georgian-Abkhaz Coordinating Council.

The meeting, which is being held under the auspices of the UN, is being attended by the Russian side – as the facilitator – and the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General and representatives of the OSCE.

The executive bodies of the Council are three working groups addressing security related issues, the return of refugees and displaced persons, and economic and social issues. The sides are expected to discuss these issues during the May 15 meeting.

The Georgian and Abkhaz sides agreed to resume the Council, which last gathered in January, 2001, after talks between Georgian President’s aide for Abkhaz issues Irakli Alasania and Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba in Sokhumi in March, 2006.