Another Georgian-Abkhazian meeting

On Saturday a meeting of the working group of the Coordination Council of Georgia and Abkhazia under the UN auspices was held in the village of Chuburkhindzhi of the Ghali region of Abkhazia (a self-proclaimed republic within the Georgian boundaries).

The Georgian delegation headed by Malkhaz Kakabadze, the minister without portfolio, consists of representatives of the Georgian Defense Ministry, commander of Georgian peace-keeping forces Klimenty Tevzadze, and prosecutor of the Zugdidi and Ghali regions Mebrdzole Chkadua.

The Abkhazian delegation is headed by Abkhazian Foreign minister Sergei Shamba and it comprises chairman of the Abkhazian commission on matters of refugees and missed in action Otar Kakalia, chief of staff of the Abkhazian Defence Ministry Vladimir Arshba, deputy Defence minister Garry Kupalba and deputy chairman of the Abkhazian security service Oleg Arshba.

The main subject of the negotiations is the situation around the Kodori Gorge the upper part of which is the only Abkhazian region under the jurisdiction of the central Georgian authorities.

Tbilisi representatives stated earlier that the Abkhazian side was getting ready to storm Kodori and was carrying out appropriate preparations.

The Abkhazian side demands to completely demilitarize the Kodori gorge and to establish there two permanent posts of Russian peace-keeping forces located in the area of the Abkhazian conflict.

The Georgian side is categorically against the establishment in Kodori of posts of the Russian "blue helmets" and is of the opinion that the monitoring of the lower and upper parts of the gorge carried out daily by peace-keepers and UN military observers is enough to control the situation.

The Georgian side also states that all units of the Georgian Defense Ministry were withdrawn from Kodori in accordance with the concluded agreements and presently only the detachment of people's volunteer corps is stationed in the gorge together with a small detachment of frontier guards which protects the existing Kabardin-Balkar sector of the Georgian-Russian border.