Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

The latest meeting, which is due to last two days, was being held under the joint auspices of
the UN, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
A UN spokeswoman confirmed that it had got underway with all sides present.
UN special representative to Georgia Johan Verbeke said shortly after the last meeting in
December that the Russians and Georgians had moved closer to a deal, in contrast to the
fragile start to the talks a couple of months beforehand.
Verbeke said only two out of the ten issues on the table, related to a mechanism to prevent
and resolve security incidents, still needed to be resolved.
However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gregory Karasin has described those issues as
"obstacles," while acknowledging an improved climate of understanding in the talks.
A first attempt at dialogue last October collapsed when Russian and Georgian delegates
failed to even sit down in the same room.
A month later they accepted informal sessions, allowing the presence of representatives from
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Moscow-backed breakaway regions which were at the
centre of the conflict last August.
On Friday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN
mission in Georgia for four months, pending the security arrangements for Abkhazia.
Russian sent its army deep into Georgia in August to push back a Georgian offensive to
regain control of South Ossetia from Russia-backed separatists.
Russia later withdrew to within Abkhazia and South Ossetia under an EU-brokered ceasefire,
but Tbilisi remains furious at the continued presence of Russian troops in the two breakaway
regions.
Learn about PILPG’s work in Georgia
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Indonesia
Former rebel gunned down in Indonesia's Aceh
Associated Press, 2/13/09
A former rebel whose wife is contesting regional elections in Indonesia's Aceh province has
been fatally shot, raising fears the April polls could descend into violence, police and party
officials said Friday.