Secretary of General of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer and Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy welcomed a breakthrough in a standoff between Adjarian and Georgia’s central authorities.
“I was very pleased to hear from Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania himself, yesterday afternoon, that an agreement had finally been found in Batumi at the end of the meeting between Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Head of the Adjarian Autonomy Aslan Abashidze”, Mr Schwimmer stated.
“This is a very positive development for the whole region,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Passy said.
During a visit to Georgia earlier this week, Solomon Passy had urged the two sides to continue talks to resolve tensions around Adjara and end the standoff by peaceful means. CoE Secretary General Walter Schwimmer has spoken with Zurab Zhvania and Aslan Abashidze earlier this week and also called for peaceful solution.