UN extends Georgia mission

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution yesterday to extend a UN observer mission in Georgia for six months and urge the country to refrain from provocative actions toward its breakaway region of Abkhazia.

The resolution "once again urges the Georgian side to address seriously legitimate Abkhaz security concerns, to avoid steps which could be seen as threatening and to refrain from militant rhetoric and provocative actions."

The 15-member council's resolution also reaffirmed a commitment to the former Soviet republic's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"It is mostly a resolution calling all the parties to the conflict to go back to the negotiating table," Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. "This is the centerpiece of efforts of the Russian Federation, playing an important part in trying to settle that long-standing conflict."

Relations between Russia and Georgia are tense. Moscow cut transportation and post links with the smaller Caucasian nation after Georgia briefly detained four Russian army officers on spying charges last month.

Russia also has been irked by Georgia's pursuit of Nato and European Union membership, while Georgia accuses Russia of backing Abkhaz separatists.

Georgia's UN Ambassador Irakli Alasania welcomed the extension of the UN mission but said he was concerned the resolution "ignores the reports of increased militarisation of Abkhazia" and does not acknowledge that Russian peacekeepers have not fulfilled their duty in the region. Mr Alasania said the Russian force was no longer impartial and that the peacekeeping operation should be multinational.

The UN resolution went through many versions, starting with a toughly worded draft by Russia after the detention of the army officers. It was somewhat softened by the advisory group but the United States held off supporting it until the last minute, arguing that the text was unbalanced.

The resolution expresses concern at the move by Georgia in July to send security forces into part of the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia. Mr Alasania said he was surprised that the resolution had focused on this move, which he said was "beneficial" in restoring order so the UN mission could resume its duties.

Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in 1993 after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Officially, no country or international body recognizes its sovereignty and it is visited only by Russian soldiers, UN officials and a few relief agencies.

Some 250,000 Georgians fled the region when the separatists, backed by mercenaries and arms from Russia's northern Caucasus region, drove out Georgian government troops and declared independence in a 1992-1993 war.

Moscow props up the province by paying pensions, issuing Russian passports and allowing cross-border traffic while acting as the lead "facilitator" in a peace process.

A UN observer mission - of 133 uniformed personnel and nearly 300 civilian staff - has operated in Georgia, a mountainous state of five million people, since August 1993, monitoring the situation between Georgia and Abkhazia.