Abkhazia insists on priority of non-use of force issue at Geneva consultations
SUKHUMI. Feb 19 (Interfax) - A pledge not to resort to the use of force remains a primary objective of the Geneva consultations on security and stability in the South Caucasus, Abkhazian Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Chirikba told reporters in Sukhumi.
"The main goal of the Geneva consultations is to sign an agreement on the non-use of force between Abkhazia and Georgia and between South Ossetia and Georgia. This is the main task of our discussions. We are not going to remove this item from the agenda because it is vital for further normalization between our countries," Chirikba said after he had discussed the agenda of the 31st round of debates due in March with the Geneva consultations cochairmen, Antti Turunen (the UN) and Angelo Gnaedinger (the OSCE).
The Abkhazian foreign minister pointed to the successful progress of the Geneva consultations, including the search for missing persons.
"The sides are constructively interacting in this area. The International Committee of the Red Cross and all intermediaries are helping us a lot," he said.
In addition, Chirikba highlighted the need to return cultural heritage to Abkhazia.
"An Italian specialist in the field of conservation and restoration of architectural monuments will visit the Abkhazian villages of Bedia and Lykhny and decide how to help ancient Christian temples there," he said.
Gnaedinger said he was happy to visit a number of Abkhazian districts and promised not to neglect protection of cultural heritage.
Turunen noted the importance of Abkhazian visits of experts.
The recognition of Abkhazian documents, among them passports and birth, marriage, divorce, death and education certificates, by European countries is important, Chirikba said.
"The consultations cochairmen and we are trying to resolve this complicated situation. There are examples of successful legalization of documents, for example, by Northern Cyprus and Taiwan," the foreign minister said. He thinks it is possible to find pragmatic solutions to the problem through de-politicization by using international practices. An information session will be held in Geneva in June and experts will discuss ways of legalization of Abkhazian documents, Chirikba said.
"At the same time, there is no progress in the political dimension due to the enormous gap between positions of the sides," he stated.