German Abkhaz Plan ‘not Dead’ – U.S. Diplomat

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said the German-proposed three-stage plan for Abkhaz conflict settlement was worth supporting and called on parties involved to cooperate.

“We do not believe that [the German] plan and ideas are dead,” he told journalists on July 21 after a UN Security Council session on Georgia. “We think that is a good process that is worthy of support and we want everyone to cooperate with it.”

The Abkhaz side said the plan was unacceptable. Although Georgia’s UN ambassador, Irakli Alasania, said on July 21 that the plan was “very much welcomed,” officials in Tbilisi said earlier the plan needed to be “refined” and it also needed “some corrections.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the plan was “a step in the right direction,” but also noted that a non-use of force treaty should be an immediate priority rather than the return of displaced persons.

Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration, said that initial reaction from the parties indicated that a brokering process had started and the parties were trying to position themselves.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said on July 21 after the UN Security Council session that Moscow appreciated the activity of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who held talks with the Georgian, Abkhaz and Russian leaderships last week.

“Russia is in the middle of rather intensive diplomatic activity, which hopefully can produce results,” Churkin said.

He, however, also said that “realistic calculations” should be made by the parties involved in the p processes and reiterated that the withdrawal of Georgian forces from upper Kodori Gorge and the signing of a non-use of force treaty were essential to help restore confidence between the conflicting sides.

“From there on, diplomatic progress hopefully can take place,” Churkin added.

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