Return of Georgians to All Parts of Abkhazia Impossible ? Shamba

While not resisting the return of Georgians to Gali district and upper Kodori Gorge, the Abkhaz authorities will not allow them to return to other parts of Abkhazia, Sergey Shamba, the Abkhaz foreign minister, said.

At a meeting with a group of experts from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Sokhumi on October 20, Shamba said, according to the Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress, that Sokhumi had encouraged the return of Georgian displaced persons and had “even accomplished this process” in the Gali district.

The Abkhaz side, he said, was not preventing the return of residents of upper Kodori Gorge who fled the area after it was taken over by the Abkhaz forces during the August war between Russia and Georgia.

“However, at this stage, against the background of tensions and confrontation coming from the Georgian side, it seems impossible to consider the return of Georgian refugees to other parts of Abkhazia,” Shamba said.

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