Georgia's refusal to see Abkahzia, S Ossetia as partners hinders discussions - Azimov.

VIENNA, June 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Georgia's stubborn refusal to see the
representatives of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as equal partners at
negotiations stalls the solution of the full range of problems associated
with the return of refugees and displaced persons, Russia's permanent
representative at the OSCE, Anvar Azimov, said on Friday at a meeting of
the OSCE Permanent Council in connection with the recent round of Geneva
talks on security and stability in Transcaucasia.
"The results of the round," he said, "confirmed that the Georgian
side, unfortunately, does not put forward any constructive proposals to
establish links with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and increasingly slides
towards propaganda rhetoric."
He said the increased aggressiveness of the Georgian delegation was
clearly shown again. "It tried to blame on some intrigues by Russia all
the failures of the Tbilisi leadership in domestic and international
affairs," said Azimov. "Georgia has accused Russian secret services
indiscriminately of staging some "terrorist attacks" in Georgian
territory. It is significant that the arrest of another alleged "saboteur"
near the office of NATO's liaison office in Tbilisi on June 6 this year
occurred immediately before the holding of a multilateral meeting in
Geneva."
However, the diplomat went on, the facts of the past months, including
the Georgian Interior Ministry special forces' penetration into Abkhazia,
the death of a Russian border guard officer in April and the incidents in
South Ossetia "clearly demonstrate who is really undermining the emerging
stabilization in the Caucasus."
In this regard, the representative of the Russian Federation drew
attention to "the increased activity of Georgian secret services near the
borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "Since the beginning of the
year," he said, "there have been twelve raids by Georgian subversive
groups into the territory of the Republic of Abkhazia, mostly in the Gali
district. These actions are organically linked to the anti-Russian
campaign of spy mania in Georgia and attempts to find a "Russian
connection" in actions by the Georgian opposition inside the country.
Azimov said that during the discussions in Geneva, "the Russian
delegation stressed the need for more careful monitoring by EU observers
of the Georgian law enforcement agencies in the areas bordering Abkhazia
and South Ossetia."
"Our position remains unchanged," he stated. "Between Tskhinvali and
Tbilisi and between Sukhumi and Tbilisi there should be signed legally
binding agreements about the non-use of force or threat of force.
Unfortunately, no progress towards this is in sight."
In view of the fact that Georgia has submitted another draft
resolution to the UN General Assembly, Azimov said, the discussions at the
UN General Assembly without the Abkhaz and South Ossetian delegations "can
turn into a political farce."