Russia Urges Georgia to Prolong Peacekeepers’ Mandate

(Tbilisi, January 22, 2003. Civil Georgia) – At the meeting with the Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze on January 22 leadership of the Russian Duma Council (lower branch of the Parliament) called the Georgian authorities to prolong the Russian peacekeepers’ mandate, deployed in Abkhazia under the CIS auspices.

Last week Georgian President threatened to demand withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zone, but on January 20 he backtracked and stated that the peacekeepers pull out would be “unjustified” decision.

“Shevardnadze’s statement regarding the withdrawal of the peacekeepers was very strange, because the UN Observers Mission would not continue their mission without Russian peacekeepers support,” Genadi Selezniov, Chairman of the Russian Duma Council told the reporters after the meeting with Nino Burjanadze.

“In case of Russian peacekeepers’ pull out the UN observers will leave the conflict zone as well and the armed conflict will renew,” Andrei Nikolaev, Chairman of the Duma’s Committee on Defense, which also met Nino Burjanadze, stated.

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