German Diplomat to Visit Georgia

Hans-Dieter Lukas, special envoy of the German Foreign Ministry for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, will visit Tbilisi and Sokhumi on July 12-14, the German embassy to Tbilisi reported.

Lukas will hold talks with Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili, Chief of the National Security Council Alexander Lomaia, Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze and State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvilii in Tbilisi.

In Sokhumi, he will meet Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh and Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba.

“Against the background of the aggravated situation in the conflict zones, the visit aims at continuing consultations about new initiatives on conflict resolution. By this, Germany will undertake a special commitment as a coordinator of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends in the Abkhaz conflict,” the German embassy said.

The Group of Friends met late last month in Berlin and discussed a German-proposed three-stage peace plan for Abkhazia.

Der Spiegel’s online edition reported this week that phase one of the German plan envisaged a year of trust-building measures, involving the signing of a treaty on the non-use of force and the beginning of the return of internally displaced persons. The second phase, the following year, would see the beginning of reconstruction work, with Berlin organizing a donors’ fundraising conference, and the third would involve defining Abkhazia’s political status.