Solana Concerned over Tension, Calls for Dialogue

Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said on July 8 that he was “seriously concerned over the deteriorating situation” in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, following a series of explosions and shooting incidents.

“I call on the parties to show restraint and to take steps to restore confidence, in cooperation with the UN and the OSCE. A peaceful, sustainable solution to the conflicts can only be found through dialogue,” he said in a statement.

Solana also said that he had sent EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby to Georgia “in an effort to calm the situation.”

“The EU will continue to closely follow developments,” he added.