Abkhazia Wants To Attend UN Security Council Meeting

Abkhaz President Bagapsh votes in 2004 (file photo) (epa) 21 January 2006 -- The president of Abkhazia is asking permission to send envoys to the UN Security Council when the 20-member body examines the situation in the unrecognized Georgian separatist republic later this month.

In a letter sent on 21 January to Security Council Chairman Augustine Mahiga, Sergei Bagapsh argues that the presence of Abkhaz representatives would help council members "get a more objective picture of ongoing developments."

Abkhazia and Georgia have been accusing each other of escalating tension along the UN-monitored demarcation line that separates them. The 13-year-old UN Observer Mission in Georgia is due to be discussed at the Security Council by the end of the month.

Georgian Conflict Resolution Minister Giorgi Khaindrava was scheduled to hold talks with Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba on 21 January in Abkhazia's southern Gali district. However, the UN-sponsored meeting was postponed due to bad weather.

(Regnum, Novosti-Gruziya, Imedi TV)