The FINANCIAL — According to Civil Georgia, a UN team tasked with assessing the peace process in Abkhazia starts its visit to Georgia on July 7, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported.
After holding talks in Tbilisi with the Georgian leadership – including with Saakashvili; Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze; Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili; Secretary of the National Security Council Aleksandre Lomaia and other officials – the team will visit Abkhazia on July 10-11.
Michele Montas, a UN spokesperson, said last week that the group, led by Bertrand Ramcharan, former acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, would also visit the capitals of the member states of the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General – France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“The mission will report back to the Secretary-General on key challenges in the UN-led peace process and possible solutions,” she said.
Since 1993 the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) has been verifying compliance with a ceasefire and separation of forces accord following the armed conflict in Abkhazia.
Temur Iakobashvili, who held talks with UN officials in New York last week, reiterated that Tbilisi wanted to replace the current Russian-led peacekeeping force and negotiating formats. He said that the removal of Russian peacekeepers would also effect UNOMIG’s operations. “So consultations are needed,” Iakobashvili added.
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