President Met Protesters Demanding Peacekeepers’ Withdrawal

(Tbilisi, February 4, Civil Georgia) – President Shevardnadze met the representatives of protesters demanding Russian peacekeeping troops’ withdrawal from the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone on February 3.

President tried to convince the protesters that the prolongation of the Russian peacekeepers’ mandate, deployed in Abkhazia under the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was the only right decision at the moment.

It is anticipated that the protesters gathered at Enguri River, administrative border of breakaway region of Abkhazia and the rest of the Georgia, will take decision whether to cease the rally or not on February 4. 

Georgian government prolonged the CIS peacekeepers’ mandate till June 30 2002.