(Tbilisi, January 25, 2003. Civil Georgia) – The US supports a “cooperative and fully transparent” international approach to resolving the Abkhaz conflict that respects Georgia’s territorial integrity and believes Russia should abstain from activities that “appear to enhance” the region’s separate status, U.S. diplomat Douglas Davidson told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna January 23.
Douglas Davidson the US Deputy Chief of Mission to the OSCE Permanent Council stated “We support the efforts of the United Nations to bring about such a resolution to the conflict on the basis of the paper on “Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competencies Between Tbilisi and
Sukhumi”, which I believe is often known as the “Boden Paper” for short.”
“We fully understand the concern of the Georgian government over unilateral actions by the Russian Federation [reopening of the railway with Abkhazia and granting Russian citizenship to the population living in the breakaway region],” US diplomat stated.
Douglas Davidson said that the US was pleased to see signs late last year, following the meeting between Presidents Shevardnadze and Putin in Chisinau, of an improvement in relations between Russia and Georgia.
“We hope that both sides will take steps to renew this forward momentum in their bilateral relations,” Douglas Davidson added.
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