By empty (3/10/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In his regular Monday radio address on 10 March, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze provided new details of the agreement he reached during talks in Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhaz Prime Minister Gennadii Gagulia on the return of Georgian displaced persons to Abkhazia\'s southernmost Gali Raion. Shevardnadze estimated that some 45,000 displaced persons will return to Gali but did not specify within what time frame. Nor is it clear whether rail communication between Sochi and Tbilisi will be resumed as soon as the repatriation process begins or only after it is successfully completed.
In his regular Monday radio address on 10 March, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze provided new details of the agreement he reached during talks in Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhaz Prime Minister Gennadii Gagulia on the return of Georgian displaced persons to Abkhazia\'s southernmost Gali Raion. Shevardnadze estimated that some 45,000 displaced persons will return to Gali but did not specify within what time frame. Nor is it clear whether rail communication between Sochi and Tbilisi will be resumed as soon as the repatriation process begins or only after it is successfully completed. Shevardnadze also divulged that he and Putin agreed on the creation of a joint Georgian-Abkhaz-Russian police force and administration for Gali, which the Abkhaz side has hitherto rejected. Shevardnadze told journalists later on 10 March that Georgian and Russian working groups will be established within the next 10 days to oversee implementation of the agreements reached in Sochi. (Caucasus Press)