In a meeting with the Georgian Foreign Minister, Ban Ki-Moon called for increased dialogue between the two sides to promote mutual trust in the region.

Below is an article published by Ria Novosti:

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Georgia to expand dialogues with its former republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and to ensure methods of trust in the region.

Ban Ki-moon met on Friday, [16 April 2010] with Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze at the UN headquarters in New York. During the talks on the former Georgian republics the UN chief also appraised Geneva consultations on South Caucasus.

The format of the discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus was established after the five-day war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.

Delegations from Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States and South Ossetia participate in the Geneva meetings on an equal footing. Representatives of the European Union, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also attend.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia, broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia was the first to recognize the independence of the republics in August 2008 after repelling Georgia's assault on South Ossetia in a five-day war. Nicaragua, Venezuela and the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru followed suit.