President Shares Hunger Strikers Demands Over Abkhazia

(Tbilisi, July 14, 2003, Civil Georgia) – President Shevardnadze said in his radiobroadcast today that he shares the demand of the Veteran Warriors’ Union of Abkhazia, saying that he has numerously urged for the implementation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter for peace enforcement in Abkhazia, though unsuccessfully.

The veterans, who continue hunger strike in Tbilisi, demand withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping troops, deployed in Abkhazian conflict zone under the CIS auspices and implementation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter in Abkhazia.

Commenting on possible withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zone and their replacement by other troops, Shevardnadze stated, that “Ukraine is ready to send its troops to the Abkhazian conflict zone.”

“The Georgian National Security Council is now discussing this issue,” the President added.

The Ukrainian authorities state that they will send their peacekeepers to the Abkhazian conflict zone in case the peacekeeping operation is carried out under the UN auspices.  

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