UN Calls for ‘Substantive Dialogue’ over Abkhazia
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in his latest report on the situation in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia that “despite some practical cooperation between the two sides [Georgian and Abkhaz], there has been no substantive dialogue on key issues and human rights and the area remains in peril.”
Kofi Annan welcomes the discussions on security guarantees and the return of refugees, but cautions that without a comprehensive political settlement, “the situation in the conflict zone will continue to be unsettled and prone to destabilization.”
The Secretary-General urges the Abkhaz side to allow UN civilian police to be deployed on its side of the ceasefire line, as previously agreed.
He also repeated his call for the Abkhaz de facto authorities to take advantage of the new Georgian government and respond constructively to offers of direct dialogue on all the major issues in dispute.
The UN Secretary General recommended that the Security Council prolong the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for another six months, until January 31 of next year.
