SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES CONCERN AT INCREASE IN TENSION IN GALI DISTRICT OF ABKHAZIA, GEORGIA
Press Release
SG/SM/6591
SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES CONCERN AT INCREASE IN TENSION IN GALI DISTRICT OF ABKHAZIA, GEORGIA
19980610 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:The Secretary-General wishes to express his serious concern at the increase in tension in the Gali district of Abkhazia, Georgia, which appears to have persisted in spite of the signing on 25 May of a "Protocol on a Cease- fire and Withdrawal of Armed Formations". The Secretary-General appeals urgently to the Government of Georgia and the Abkhaz authorities to settle their dispute at the negotiating table and not through armed confrontation, which would only lead to further unnecessary human suffering and additional loss of life. He sincerely hopes that a meeting between Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and the Abkhaz leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, will take place soon, and that it will contribute to defusing the situation on the ground. He has instructed his Special Representative to pursue vigorously his contacts with both sides with a view to resuming the Geneva process.
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