New UN Envoy Visits Sokhumi

Johan Verbeke, the UN secretary-general’s new special representative to Georgia, held talks with Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh and Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba in Sokhumi on October 5.

Belgian career diplomat Verbeke has replaced French diplomat Jean Arnault, who had served in Georgia since 2006.
 
Apsnypress news agency reported that the Abkhaz side demanded a change in the name and structure of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in recognition of the “new realities” following Russian recognition of Abkhazia’s so-called independence. A UN Security Council session scheduled for October 15 will discuss a six-month extension of the UNOMIG mandate.

“If the mission is still called the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, let it observe the situation in Georgia,” Alkhas Cholokua, an Abkhaz government spokesman, said.  

Before visiting Sokhumi, Verbeke held meetings with Georgian officials in Tbilisi. The UNOMIG mandate extension and forthcoming international talks scheduled for October 15 in Geneva were discussed.

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