The FINANCIAL — According to Civil Georgia, UN Secretary General’s new special representative to Georgia Johan Verbeke 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 prior to the UN Security Council session scheduled for October 15, which will discuss the issue of prolongation of the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for another six months, the Abkhaz side demanded to change the name and structure of this mission based on “new realities” after recognition of Abkhazia’s so called independence.
“If the mission is still called the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, let it observe the situation in Georgia,” Alkhas Cholokua, the Abkhaz government’s spokesman, said.
Before visiting Sokhumi, Johan Verbeke held meetings with Georgian officials in Tbilisi. The issues of the UNOMIG expansion and the forthcoming international talks scheduled for October 15 in Geneva were discussed.
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