Solana: Lowering Tension is Major Goal

Tbilisi’s desire to replace the Russian-led peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia with an international police force will be on the agenda when he meets the Georgian leadership, Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said at a news conference in Tbilisi on June 5.

He, however, stressed that for the moment the major goal was “to lower temperature, the level of tensions” surrounding the Abkhaz conflict.

“As you know peacekeepers are in Abkhazia as a consequence of the [Moscow] agreement of 1994; any change in the structure of the mission will have to be agreed by the parties,” Solana said.

Russian officials have said several times that they would not resist a change in the peacekeeping format, but only if the Abkhaz side agreed. The authorities in breakaway Abkhazia are strongly against such a change. Tbilisi says that Sokhumi’s position is in fact determined by Russia itself.

Solana will visit Sokhumi on June 6 and hold talks with the secessionist authorities.

“I want to get a clear picture and to see how the EU can play a constructive role,” Solana said. “For us it will be important that contact between Tbilisi and Sokhumi continue. Be sure that if we can play any role in that direction we will play it as much as we can.”

He also reiterated EU’s concern regarding Russia’s recent moves in respect of Abkhazia, involving the deployment of additional troops and Moscow’s decision to establish official ties with the breakaway region.

“Russia is a very important player,” he said, “but I think that the latest measures that Russia has taken are not intelligent measures, are not measures that would contribute to lowering the temperature. We have very good relations with Russia and we pass on these messages whenever we meet them.”

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