GUIDANCE: UNSC EMERGENCY MEETING ON GEORGIA

UNCLAS STATE 042903 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC PREL PBTS GE RU SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC EMERGENCY MEETING ON GEORGIA REF: A. USUN 356 ¶B. TBILISI 614 ¶C. MOSCOW 1055 ¶1. Action request: Department requests that USUN deliver the following statement in para 2 below at the UNSC meeting on Georgia scheduled for Wednesday, April 23. End Action Request. ¶2. Begin statement: -- Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to welcome Georgian Foreign Minister Bakradze to the Council today. -- The United States is deeply concerned by the April 16 Russian Presidential Instructions authorizing increased contacts between the Russian government and the separatist regime in Abkhazia and South Ossetia without the approval of the Georgian government. With that in mind, I would like to make four points. -- First, this step challenges Georgia's territorial integrity and is not in keeping with Russia's status as a "facilitator" of the peace process. -- In numerous Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1808 that we passed last week, this Council has reaffirmed the commitment of all member states to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders; and to settlement of the conflict within the framework of Security Council resolutions. -- Second, we urge Russia to live up to its statements of support for the principles of Georgia's sovereignty, to abide by the resolutions of this Council reaffirming Georgia's territorial integrity, and to repeal the April 16 instructions. -- As we have previously stated, we regret the Russian decision to withdraw unilaterally from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) economic and military sanctions on Abkhazia. While we recognize assurances that we have received from Russian government officials that Russia will continue to adhere to military sanctions against Abkhazia, the lifting of CIS sanctions has raised concerns over military transparency in the region. We believe the withdrawal of sanctions undermines the peace process. -- We also express our serious concern regarding the shooting down of a Georgian unmanned aerial vehicle in Georgian airspace this past weekend. We call for an end to all armed incursions into Georgia's airspace, which constitute a serious breach of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. regards both the violation of Georgia's airspace and the shooting down of the UAV as acts that escalate tensions in the region. We call on all sides to exercise restraint in a highly volatile region. -- Third, the United States welcomes the new initiatives put forward by the Georgian president to advance a negotiated political resolution of the Abkhazia conflict. We urge the de facto authorities in Abkhazia to respond constructively to these initiatives, as well as the previous confidence-building measures proposed in Geneva in 2007, and hope that Moscow will encourage Abkhazia's de facto authorities to do so. -- Finally, we call on all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution of the separatist conflicts in Georgia. There is no military solution to this conflict, and we strongly urge all parties to refrain from any use of military force and to work to de-escalate and reduce tensions. We encourage the Russian government to work constructively within the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary General and other international frameworks to promote political settlement of the conflicts. -- Thank you, Mr. President. end statement. RICE