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13.01.2004
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| TURKEY OFFERS TO HOST
ABKHAZ-GEORGIAN TALKS |
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13.01.2004
Turkish Ambassador to Georgia Dicle Kopuz stated on 13 January that
Ankara is ready to host a further round of confidence building talks
between Georgia and Abkhazia. "I believe that Turkey can do
a great deal to improve mutual understanding between the conflict
sides," she said, noting that the unresolved conflict hinders
the economic development of the region. Turkey hosted talks in Istanbul
between Abkhaz and Georgian representatives in year 1999.
(Agency Caucasus)
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Abkhazia is ready for talks with Georgia
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13.01.2004
Abkhazia is ready to resume talks with Georgia with no preconditions,
stated Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba on 12 January. Shamba's
comment came following talks in Sukhum with Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini,
who is UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy for the Abkhaz
conflict. Shamba said Abkhaz and Georgian representatives will meet
at least twice this month to discuss security issues. He also said
it is "desirable" that Abkhazia be represented at a UN Security
Council session on 31 January at which the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
will be discussed. In recent weeks, Abkhaz Vice President Valerii
Arshba has repeatedly said that a resumption of talks with Georgia
is contingent on the signing of a treaty on peace and the non-resumption
of hostilities and on a crackdown by the Georgian authorities on Georgian
guerrilla formations operating in southern Abkhazia. Speaking in Tiflis
on 12 January, President elect Saakashvili reaffirmed his commitment
to resolving the Abkhaz conflict peacefully, but added in a reference
to Arshba's pronouncements that no one can present him with an ultimatum.
(Agency Caucasus) |
| MOSCOW REMAINS OPPOSED TO BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
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13.01.2004
An unidentified Russian Government official said that Moscow has not
changed its negative attitude toward the Baku-Ceyhan oil-export pipeline,
currently under construction and backed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey,
and the United States, newsinfo.ru and gazeta.ru reported on 9 January.
"We do not believe this project is economically feasible, and
therefore Russia's participation in it is not justified," the
official said. He added that although Russia controls 24 percent of
the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, "it has seen practically no
profit from it."
(Agency Caucasus) |
| State of emergency in Chechen
village after landslides |
13.01.2004
A state of emergency is introduced in the village of Zandak in Chechnya's
Nozhay-Yurt District because of landslides. Some 53 houses are destroyed
in the village of Zandak in Chechnya's Nozhay-Yurtovskiy District
by the landslides on 8 January. This forced the village administration
to impose a state of emergency. The Emergency Ministry sent reinforcements
to the Nozhay-Yurt District to deal with that. "The new landslides
destroyed more than 50 houses, fortunately there are no casualties.
Some 150 metres of roads and two kilometers of gas pipeline are destroyed.
This is the second incident in Zandak of late. Ten houses were destroyed
in the village by mudslides which happened several weeks ago. The
headquarters have been set up to eliminate the consequences of the
natural disaster. Villagers are being evacuated," an official
from the district administration said. He said that there are 300
houses in the landslide area. Those affected by the natural disaster
found temporary shelter at a local school. Local residents thinks
that the mudslides are mainly caused by massive air raids and artillery
shelling of the mountain gorges and forests by the Russian military
invasion.
(Agency Caucasus) |
