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Sokhumi�s Mixed Reactions to Proposed Meeting in Berlin
| Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 25 Jul.'08 / 20:31 |  |  |
Mathew Bryza, the U.S. deputy assistance secretary of state, and
Patricia Flor, the German ambassador in Georgia, visited Sokhumi on
July 25 in an attempt to convince the Abkhaz side to participate in
talks in Berlin next week. They also discussed with the Abkhaz
leadership the German-proposed three-stage plan.
Patricia Flor, the German ambassador in Georgia, visited Sokhumi on
July 25 in an attempt to convince the Abkhaz side to participate in
talks in Berlin next week. They also discussed with the Abkhaz
leadership the German-proposed three-stage plan.
Bagapsh said after meeting with the German ambassador that the
Abkhaz side would consider the possibility of taking part in the Berlin
meeting if the UN secretary general�s Group of Friends on Georgia
(France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the U.S.) �renders tangible
assistance� to the Abkhaz side in pushing its position on upper Kodori
Gorge and treaty on non-use of force.
Abkhaz side would consider the possibility of taking part in the Berlin
meeting if the UN secretary general�s Group of Friends on Georgia
(France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the U.S.) �renders tangible
assistance� to the Abkhaz side in pushing its position on upper Kodori
Gorge and treaty on non-use of force.
The Abkhaz side has set two preconditions for resuming direct
talks with Tbilisi: the withdrawal of Georgian forces from upper Kodori
Gorge and the signing of a treaty on the non-use of force.
talks with Tbilisi: the withdrawal of Georgian forces from upper Kodori
Gorge and the signing of a treaty on the non-use of force.
Sergey Shamba, the Abkhaz foreign minister, also said later on
July 25 that Sokhumi was not �in principle� against the Berlin meeting,
but added that even if Sokhumi agreed to participate, that would not
mean the resumption of direct talks with Tbilisi.
July 25 that Sokhumi was not �in principle� against the Berlin meeting,
but added that even if Sokhumi agreed to participate, that would not
mean the resumption of direct talks with Tbilisi.
�A meeting of the Group of Friends does not mean negotiations
between the [conflicting] sides,� he said later on July 25. �The Group
of Friends invites the conflicting sides and listens to their opinion
and position.�
between the [conflicting] sides,� he said later on July 25. �The Group
of Friends invites the conflicting sides and listens to their opinion
and position.�
He, however, also said that the proposed date of the meeting �
sometime next week � was not acceptable for Sokhumi. Shamba, however,
did not specify why. �We�ll see when this meeting can be possible and
we will let you know about our proposal,� Apsnipress news agency quoted
Shamba as saying.
sometime next week � was not acceptable for Sokhumi. Shamba, however,
did not specify why. �We�ll see when this meeting can be possible and
we will let you know about our proposal,� Apsnipress news agency quoted
Shamba as saying.
In separate remarks reported earlier on July 25, Shamba seemed
against the Berlin meeting. �The resumption of talks before the
withdrawal of Georgian forces from the upper Kodori Gorge would mean
that the Abkhaz side is accepting the new existing reality [in upper
Kodori], which has emerged as a result of illegal actions by the
Georgian side,� he said.
against the Berlin meeting. �The resumption of talks before the
withdrawal of Georgian forces from the upper Kodori Gorge would mean
that the Abkhaz side is accepting the new existing reality [in upper
Kodori], which has emerged as a result of illegal actions by the
Georgian side,� he said.
Remarks made by Stanislav Lakoba, the secretary of the Abkhaz
National Security Council, over the matter were also different from
those of the Abkhaz leader.
National Security Council, over the matter were also different from
those of the Abkhaz leader.
Lakoba said earlier on July 25 after meeting with Bryza that
Sokhumi�s participation in the Berlin meeting was ruled out. He said:
�I would not even discuss this issue at all. We can discuss it only
after our terms are met.�
Sokhumi�s participation in the Berlin meeting was ruled out. He said:
�I would not even discuss this issue at all. We can discuss it only
after our terms are met.�
�The Abkhaz side is not going to turn the issue of the withdrawal
of Georgian forces from upper Kodori into a matter of negotiations,�
Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported, quoting Lakoba as saying.
�The withdrawal of the forces should be a precondition for the
resumption of talks and not a topic for talks.�
of Georgian forces from upper Kodori into a matter of negotiations,�
Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported, quoting Lakoba as saying.
�The withdrawal of the forces should be a precondition for the
resumption of talks and not a topic for talks.�
After visiting Sokhumi, the U.S. deputy assistance secretary was
due to meet President Saakashvili in Batumi later on July 25. He plans
to hold a news conference in Tbilisi on July 26.
due to meet President Saakashvili in Batumi later on July 25. He plans
to hold a news conference in Tbilisi on July 26.
https://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=13212
The Georgian authorities have shattered a 13-year-old status quo in Abkhazia after stationing its official government representatives in the Tbilisi-controlled high mountainous Kodori Gorge, which is situated in the middle of the unrecognized republic. The move has triggered the concerns of both Sokhumi and Moscow. Official Tbilisi will be represented in the upper Kodori Gorge by its troops, described as �police forces,� and by the Abkhaz government-in-exile, which has up to now been based in Tbilisi. Kodori Gorge stretches from the administrative border that seperates breakaway Abkhazia and Georgia�s Svaneti region in the north, down towards the southwest into the middle of the unrecognized republic. The gorge is currently divided by a Russian peacekeeping troops� checkpoint, which seperates the Georgian-administered upper Kodori and the Abkhaz-controlled lower part of the gorge. Upper Kodori Gorge, populated with an ethnic Georgian population, was the only part of the breakaway region out of the secessionist authorities� control after the end of the armed confrontation in Abkhazia in 1993. The Monadire (Hunter) paramilitary group, which was formed by Georgian residents of Kodori Gorge after the armed conflict broke out in 1992, served as the protector of the gorge from a potential Abkhaz offensive. But the Abkhaz side and Kodori-based Monadire unit had a �gentleman�s agreement� not to initiate any offensives against each other. Tbilisi�s authority in the gorge was only nominal throughout these years. The situation changed on July 25, when the Georgian authorities sent troops to Kodori to crack down on Monadire militiamen, led by the former governor of the gorge Emzar Kvitsiani, who announced his defiance against Tbilisi on July 22. Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili admitted in an interview with Rustavi 2 television, recorded in Kodori Gorge, that the Georgian authorities planned to restore full control over the gorge even before Kvitsiani made his announcement. �I told Kvitsiani that we were giving him one week's time to leave the gorge; otherwise, I threatened that this would happen [sending of troops],� Okruashvili, dressed in a military uniform, said in the interview. It is yet unclear how many police will be deployed in upper Kodori Gorge. President Saakashvili announced on July 27 that Kodori Gorge will become the �provisional legitimate administrative center of Abkhazia,� with the exiled Abkhaz authorities� headquarters there. Based in Tbilisi since 1993, the exiled Abkhaz authorities consist of the Supreme Council, which is the legislative body, and of the executive government. The latter unites four ministries � Finance, Economy, Education and Healthcare, as well as eight departments and eight local governance bodies. The school in Azhara, the main village of upper Kodori Gorge, will most likely become the headquarters of the exiled Abkhaz authorities. Sokhumi, Moscow Reaction The decision to establish official representation in Kodori Gorge has been strongly condemned by Sokhumi, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said on July 28 that Georgia might use Kodori as �a foothold for a forceful solution of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.� �We reserve the right not to allow the establishment of a puppet government in the Kodori Gorge. I am not ruling out the use of any means, including diplomatic and military, to achieve this goal,� Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh said on July 28. Sokhumi�s protest was expected, as the secessionist authorities in Abkhazia have for a long time been demanding that Tbilisi disband the, as they call it, �so called legitimate Abkhaz government,� or �puppet government.� In a response, influential Georgian MP Givi Targamadze, who chairs the parliamentary committee for defense and security, condemned the Abkhaz statements as �hysteria� and threatened a �devastating strike� against any aggression towards Kodori. President Saakashvili said on July 27 that Tbilisi�s recent moves in Abkhazia do not mean that the Georgian side has �aggressive intentions,� reiterating Tbilisi's commitment to solve the conflict through peaceful means. |