On UN blue helmets in Georgia

The presence of UN observers in the area of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict is "possible only together with the CIS joint peacekeeping forces," said Alexander Gorelik, director of the UN information centre in Moscow.

The decision on the UN observers' participation in the peacekeeping operation in Georgia in the early 90-s was taken "in close cooperation with the CIS forces," he said. "The mandate of these two forces in Georgia is interdependent," he stressed.

"It is only logical that if the CIS presence is stopped, the UN presence is going to lose the major part of its point," Gorelik said.

Concrete issues of cooperation between the CIS and UN peacekeepers will be discussed during the Moscow visit of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, due on June 4-6.