Moscow/Agency Caucasus – President Sergei Bagapsh of Abkhazia met on Thursday with President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia for a discussion over the recent regional goings-on.
The two presidents met in the presidential house of Medvedev in the Gori district outside of Moscow, capital of Russia, according to a brief statement from the Kremlin.
Talks at the meeting was largely focused on the divide between Georgia and Abkhazia over how to treat the zone of conflict. "Mr. Bagapsh underscored the role of Russian peacekeeping forces in maintaining security in the zone of conflict. He was grateful to the Russian Federation for helping the people of Abkhazia with social, economic, humanitarian and military problems," the Kremlin said in its statement.
Both presidents stressed the need for Georgia and Abkhazia to act in accordance with the stipulations of the 1994 Moscow Pact and with the United Nations (UN) alike, the Kremlin statement said.
The 1994 Moscow Pact permits the Russian peacekeeping forces to be deployed in the zone of conflict, although Georgia objects to it. Similarly, the UN suggests that Upper Kodor, among other areas of strategically equal importance, should be freed of weapons. In spite of this, Georgia has kept its troops located in Upper Kodor since July 2006.
One of the most important reasons why Russia stands by Abkhazia as well as South Ossetia is that it has decided to improve its social, economic and cultural relations with both countries after Kosovo gained its unilateral independence from Serbia, an event that apparently did not make Russia happy. FT
