Abkhaz Foreign Ministry holds meeting with UN representative

Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia held a meeting with the UN representative Anti Turunen.

Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Chirikba said that the most important topics for discussion relate to the agreement on the nonuse of force between Georgia and Abkhazia, and South Ossetia and Georgia, as well as humanitarian issues, in particular the removal of barriers to the implementation of Abkhazian citizens' right to freedom of movement.

The participants also discussed the possibility of resumption of the Gali mechanism for preventing and responding to incidents (MPRI) .

The second part of the meeting took place without the participation of journalists.
Later, the UN representative said that during the meeting questions were raised on the Geneva process and MPRI. "I am pleased that the security situation is now calm and stable. Regarding continuation of work under MPRI, there are some issues that need to be resolved," Turunen says.

In turn, Chirikba said that along with the document on the nonuse of force, a document that provided the residents of Abkhazia all rights of free citizens is being presently developed. The minister was referring to the visa policy of the EU and non-EU countries, as well as issues of legalization of documents for those who want to study abroad.

The issue of renewed Gali meetings within MPRI, according to Chirikba, will hopefully be resumed, but there are still a few technical problems.

In addition, the meeting raised issues related to the provision of security at the Olympic Games by the authorities of Abkhazia. The Foreign Minister said that the government is doing its best to guarantee that there will be no threat from Abkhazian territory. According to him, the transfer of the security zone 11 kilometers into the territory of Abkhazia is a justified measure, reports Apsnypress.