Germany Concerned over Abkhaz, South Ossetian Tensions

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern over the recent "violent" incidents in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 

“I am anxiously watching the recent violent incidents in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which left some people dead,” Minister Steinmeier said in a statement, which was posted on the German Foreign Ministry’s website on July 8. “I insistently call on all sides to prevent further escalation.”

He also said that recent developments had underlined the necessity to seek a “peaceful resolution of conflicts.”  

“Germany, as a coordinator of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends on Georgia will actively support defusing of tensions,” the German Foreign Minister said.