Russia and Abkhazia dissatisfied with UN resolution

On photo: UN base in Sukhumi

"Resolution of the UN General Assembly on returning of refugees to Abkhazia, adopted last Thursday on Georgia's initiative, will lead to aggravation in the Georgian-Abkhaz relations and will interfere with the UN activities on settling the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict." This statement was made during the plenary session of the General Assembly by Russia's Deputy Permanent UN Representative, Ilya Rogachev.

The resolution, whose draft was introduced by the Georgian delegation, was adopted Thursday by 14 votes against 11, with 105 abstentions. The resolution stresses the need for promptly scheduling the return of refugees to Abkhazia and inadmissibility of changing the republic's ethnic structure compared to the period prior to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 1992.

"This resolution... destabilizes the UN activity in the area of the Georgian-Abkhaz peace settlement, including as part of the Security Council and the Group of Friends of UN Secretary General in Georgia. The problem of displaced settlers is a crucial one, but not the only one in the context of achieving the complete and long-term settlement of the Georigan-Abkhaz conflict. The draft introduced by the Georgian side virtually drops the subject of returning of refugees and internally displaces persons from the complex of tasks in attaining peace in the region, thereby making this problem even more complicated," Moscow's representative said.

Russia's representative pointed at the allegedly "biased and one-sided approach" of the Georgian draft. He claimed that the draft does not quote any specific references to any resolutions by the UN Security Council, nor does it contain any other regulations of the resolutions that would censure the actions by Georgian authorities.

Moreover, Russian delegation asserts that the Georgian project "imposes a distorted impression about the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, it is silent about the conflict's history and considers only some of the consequences, but forgets the reasons why the situation has arisen".

Abkhazia, in turn, does not take into consideration the UN General Assembly resolution on refugees in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Abkhazian foreign minister Sergei Shamba said, "The countries that supported this document are once again showing that they are ready to support anything that Georgia would offer."

During the voting last Friday the resolution was supported by the US, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Russia and Armenia, among other members, voted against the resolution. The countries that abstained from voting stated that the issue is under the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council. Unlike the decisions made by the UNSC, the resolution by the General Assembly has no binding force.

According to the Abkhaz minister, "it is mandatory to carry out what was agreed on by the both sides of the conflict". "Everything discussed and adopted without our participation has no importance to us," S. Shamba stated.

If someone is concerned about the situation in Abkhazia, one "must make a deeper study of the situation before adopting the documents at face value", said he.

Abkhazian foreign minister claims that "Georgia's actions are not conducive to the feeling of security within the Abkhaz society".