Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said on June 6 in Sokhumi that the European Union wanted “to get deeper engaged” in Abkhaz conflict resolution.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh after the meeting, Solana said he had “very interesting” and “profound” talks with the Abkhaz authorities and thanked Bagapsh – referring to him as “the president” – “for understanding.”
“We would like very much to help,” the EU foreign policy chief said. “You know there are formats already in place. I hope very much that there will be formats in which anybody will participate in a constructive manner. In any case we are ready to get more engaged, we are already here… but we want to be more in. Together we can move the process forward.”
Solana underlined once again Russia’s important role in the process.
“I do not see any resolution without the participation of Russia,” he said. “Russia is an important player and I hope very much that it will be a constructive player.”
He also said that the conflict resolution in Georgia would be on the agenda at a top level Russia-EU summit later this month.
“We have good relations with the Russian Federation, but I think that this conflict should be solved fundamentally by the two sides, by the two parties [Georgian and Abkhaz sides],” Solana added.
At the same news conference Sergey Bagapsh reiterated once again Sokhumi’s conditions for resuming talks with Tbilisi.
“We are not against any contacts, any talks but only if two major conditions are met – the withdrawal of troops from the Kodori Gorge and signing of an agreement on the non-use of force,” Bagapsh said. “There can not be any contacts otherwise, for one simple reason – there is no reason to meet and sign agreements, if subsequently they will be violated.”
He also accused Tbilisi of violating all the basic agreements. “So, the question arises: why should we meet if the agreements have been violated,” Bagapsh added.
Speaking about Russian-led peacekeeping operation in the conflict zone, Bagapsh said: “We told Mr. Solana about our position – Russian peacekeepers are performing a very important mission here. Neither Georgians nor others should speculate on this issue – Russian peacekeepers are and will remain in Abkhazia in the future.”
Solana said in Tbilisi on June 5 that although lowering current tension was the most urgent necessity at the moment, Tbilisi’s desire to replace the Russian-led peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia with an international police force was also discussed with the Georgian leadership.
He, however, said that “any change in the structure of the mission will have to be agreed by the parties.”
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.
Bagapsh also said at the joint news conference that Sokhumi was interested in economic cooperation with the EU.
“We are ready to discuss economic relations with EU member-states,” he said. “The EU comes close to our borders and we are interested in air and maritime links.”
