The United States commends the efforts
of the United Nations to find a solution to the conflict in Abkhazia and
supports an outcome that will be achieved peacefully, in partnership with
Georgia, and that fully respects Georgia's sovereignty and territorial
integrity, U.S. diplomat Douglas A. Davidson told the OSCE Permanent Council
in Vienna February 6 after a presentation by Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini,
special representative of the UN Secretary General in Georgia.
Following is Davidson's statement:
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United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna
February 6, 2003
STATEMENT OF RESPONSE TO UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL FOR ABKHAZIA
Delivered by Chargé d'Affaires Douglas A. Davidson to the Permanent Council
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I should like to join the Ambassador of Greece on behalf of the European Union, and I am sure my other colleagues, in welcoming Ambassadors Tagliavini and Lacombe to the Permanent Council today. We are indeed privileged to have the current Special Representative of the Secretary General for Georgia as well as her two distinguished predecessors in the same room with us today. And I should like, in particular, to thank Ambassador Tagliavini for coming to Vienna to address us at this particularly busy time in her schedule.
As my colleague representing the European Union has already noted, the appearance today of Ambassadors Lacombe and Tagliavini is indeed a testament to the excellent cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE on this particularly difficult issue. If I may, I should like to address myself to the remarks made by Ambassador Tagliavini first.
Mr. Chairman, Ambassador Tagliavini is to be commended for her hard work and tireless commitment to resolving the difficult problem in Abkhazia, Georgia.
The United States supports a cooperative and fully transparent international approach, in partnership with Georgia, to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Abkhazia that respects fully Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We support the efforts of the United Nations to bring about such a resolution on the basis of the paper on "Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competencies Between Tbilisi and Sukhumi," which as Ambassador Tagliavini has already pointed out, has received the full endorsement of the Security Council. We wish Ambassador Tagliavini well in her continuing efforts in this regard.
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