30 July 2004 -- The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to maintain for six more months the small force observing a ceasefire in Georgia between the government and the breakaway region of Abkhazia.
The 15-member Security Council agreed to prolong the mission, which was set to expire this month, until 31 January 2005.
The mission includes some 130 military observers. It was set up in August 1993 after an accord ended fighting that had forced nearly 300,000 ethnic Georgian refugees to flee Abkhazia.
The Security Council resolution -- sponsored by the United States, Russia, Britain and others -- expressed regret over the Abkhaz side's continuing failure to agree to a discussion on the basic principles for a settlement that have been put forward by international mediators.
(AFP/AP/RFE/RL)
The mission includes some 130 military observers. It was set up in August 1993 after an accord ended fighting that had forced nearly 300,000 ethnic Georgian refugees to flee Abkhazia.
The Security Council resolution -- sponsored by the United States, Russia, Britain and others -- expressed regret over the Abkhaz side's continuing failure to agree to a discussion on the basic principles for a settlement that have been put forward by international mediators.
(AFP/AP/RFE/RL)