Raul Khadjimba: We are confident that we will be able to convey our position to European friends and Georgia

RA President Raul Khadjimba received Co-Chairs of the Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia from the UN Antti Turunen and his deputy Khailo Mamo.

Sukhum. February 4. Apsnypress. Elena Poluyan. Greeting RA President Raul Khadjimba, co-chairman of the Geneva discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia from the UN Antti Turunen expressed the hope that in the coming year cooperation of the United Nations with the Republic of Abkhazia will continue. "We share your point of view, and we believe that we all need to think about new methods and approaches to cooperation. I am sure we will be able to move forward in small steps. However, all this can not be done without some political support ", - Turunen said.
 
 Co-chairman of the Geneva discussions outlined the purpose of his visit to Abkhazia - "to listen to the views of the Abkhaz authorities regarding the new work items of cooperation and the steps to be taken to move forward". He recalled the work of the results already achieved in the framework of the Geneva discussions, in particular - a number of issues related to environmental protection, and also spoke about the need to resume work "on the five-sided mechanism in the Gali district".
 
 For his part, RA President Raul Khadjimba said: "It is significant for us to convey our position on existing international platforms, and participation in the Geneva discussions allows us to do it. But there is an another issue - we hear all the time about the readiness to continue to work, but the processes that go, do not allow to fully say that the situation is changing".
 
 The President elaborated: "These are the issues of movement of our people, recognition of documents, humanitarian sphere issues of Abkhazia participation in various processes, non-political component. All these issues must be addressed. Maybe, not soon, but in stages".
 
 At the same time Khadjimba marked the positions of the parties: "We hear all the time that our territory is a certain threat to European security. That is, the incompleteness of conflict. I think that Abkhazia is not a country that could pose a threat to European security. But the unresolved conflicts that have two sides is more significant. The same attitude should be towards Georgia, which is not always active in addressing these issues".
 
Khadjimba also noted that the decision on the signing of an agreement on the nonuse of force has not moved an inch.  "The Georgian authorities continue to refer to Abkhazia in a special way, despite the fact the power, political entity change, but the context of the relationship remains the same. Therefore, the talk should be continued. Ultimately, we have no doubt that we will be able to convey our position to European friends and Georgia", - President said.