There is a risk that the already tense situation between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides will become more volatile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in his recent report to the Security Council on the situation in Abkhazia issued on October 3.

“A negotiated solution for the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict is undoubtedly difficult to reach today, as the positions of the two sides have grown further apart over the years on the question of political status. There is no alternative, however, to dialogue,” Kofi Annan said.

He said that relations between the Abkhaz and Georgian sides “took a turn for the worse” in late July when “a large-scale special operation was launched in the Georgian-controlled upper Kodori Valley under the direction of the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Defence of Georgia.”

The report says that UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) had issued 13 violation reports of the 1994 Moscow Agreement to the Georgian side relating to the introduction of troops, military vehicles and aircraft into the security zone and obstruction of the freedom of movement of UNOMIG personnel.

During the same period, two violation reports were issued to the Abkhaz side for obstruction of the freedom of movement of the Mission’s personnel.

“It is therefore of great importance for stability in the area that all sides show restraint and strictly observe their obligations under the Moscow Agreement on the Ceasefire and Separation of Forces as well as other relevant documents signed by both sides,” Annan said in the report.