Abkhazia is Concerned With Possible Withdrawal of Russian Peace-Keepers From the Georgian-Abkhazian Conflict Zone

Prime-minister of the Abkhazian government Gennady Gagulia perceived with understanding the opinion of the Russian side that the peace-keeping contingent in Abkhazia could not and should not stay in the legal vacuum. At the same time Gogulia expressed serious concern over the possible development of the situation in case the peace-keepers were withdrawn.

On Saturday the Russian Foreign Ministry informed that the situation around CIS Collective peace-keeping forces in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict was considered in details on Friday during the meeting between special representative of the Russian President, first deputy Russian foreign minister Valery Loshchinin and Abkhazian prime-minister Gennady Gagulia. The situation aggravated in connection with Georgia's refusal to extend the peace-keepers' mandate.

In the opinion of Gagulia, in case the peace-keeping contingent is withdrawn, the negotiation process will be thrown back and aggravation of the situation, up to the resumption of military actions in the conflict area, will be inevitable.

In the course of the meeting the parties considered in general terms prospects for the restoration of the negotiation process on the basis of account of legal interests of both sides, including in the format of a new Georgian -Abkhazian meeting on measures of confidence. In this connection the Abkhazian premier stated the readiness of the Abkhazian side to consider the issue of the return of refugees into the Galski region and to agree on measures of economic rehabilitation of the conflict zone.