UN Security Council to Discuss Abkhazia

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on July 29 to discuss the situation in breakaway Abkhazia.

In his latest report on Abkhazia, which was published on July 28 covering a period between April and July, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “the last four months have witnessed a resurgence of tensions between the two sides” and called on the Georgian and Abkhaz sides to preserve the integrity of their ceasefire regime.

“I have consistently stressed the need for strict observance of the ceasefire and separation-of-forces regime in the area of responsibility of UNOMIG [the UN Observer Mission in Georgia] in order to prevent a resumption of hostilities and create a climate conducive to dialogue between the two sides,” Secretary-General Ban said.

“Unfortunately, after a period of relative stability in the winter, the last four months have witnessed a resurgence of tensions stemming from, inter alia, clear disagreements as to what constitutes observance or violation of the ceasefire regime,” he added.

He also stressed the need for the parties involved “to observe the most rigorous separation of forces on land, at sea and in the air, with the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] peacekeeping force having responsibility for the enforcement of that separation.”