Sokhumi Backs Expansion of UN Monitoring

UN map of Abkhazia. Click on image to view in detail

Abkhazia said it was supporting a recommendation by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to expand the zone of responsibility of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) and Russian peacekeepers.

The UN Secretary General recommended on October 8 that areas between the zone of conflict and the Kodori Gorge be put under international monitoring, with the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery radar. The suggestion came because the September 20 clash between Georgian and Abkhaz forces took place outside the area of responsibility of UNOMIG and Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the conflict zone under the auspices of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

“In my opinion, this proposal by the UN is in our interests. It will help to improve the security situation in ‘grey spots’ – in areas around the border with Georgia,” Sergey Shamba, the Abkhaz foreign minister said.

The UN Security Council is expected to pass a new resolution on Abkhazia and extend the UNOMIG mandate on October 15.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)