Georgia’s Foreign Minister meets deputy head of UN in Tbilisi
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, April 14
Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze met United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffery Feldman, in Tbilisi on April 12.
Regional security issues, Russia’s aggressive actions in Georgia and the UN’s involvement in the peace-building process were high on the agenda of the meeting.
Janelidze said Georgia was concerned by Russia’s annexing policies in Georgia’s de-facto regions of Abkahzia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
In this context, the Georgian official highlighted the unlawful treaties signed between the breakaway regions and Russia, envisaging the integration of the occupied Georgian territories into Russia, as well as the recent claims of the de-facto Tskhinvali leadership about the August referendum over whether to be incorporated into Russia.
The officials stressed that Russian actions on Georgian soil contradicted UN regulations and created threats for the whole region.
Janelidze and Feldman appealed to Russia to meet its international obligations and the August 12 2008 ceasefire agreement with Georgia and support peace in the region.
The officials also stressed the importance of the Geneva Talks dedicated to Georgia’s territorial complications and the recent restoration of the Gali International Prevention and Response Mechanism with the purpose of addressing security concerns and ensuring the protection of human rights in the occupied region of Abkazia and its adjacent areas.
