Thank you, Madame Chairperson.

I appreciate the report from the UN Special Representative Boden, and am pleased to hear his assessment of "cautious optimism," but I am not sure how much optimism is there.

The US remains very concerned about the peace process in Abkhazia. We were pleased that President Shevardnaze highlighted this as a priority in his election campaign. We welcome this. Our hope was that the same view was held in Sukhumi and, I must say, we are not yet convinced of that.

Six weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Ardzinba in Sukhumi. While he talks about the need for engagement, he does not provide a convincing perspective that he is prepared to truly sit down and embrace and deal with the most difficult issues. He reflects some comfort with the status quo. We have highlighted problems with that to him. What is clear in Abkhazia and Georgia is that there is a need for serious engagement for all sides with a focus on realistic goals and on the concrete steps that are required to achieve them.

I believe it would be helpful for others in the OSCE community to pass that same message to all the parties that they truly need to engage with serious purpose. I would like to reinforce the concerns raised by Special Representative Boden regarding the situation in Gali region. The US believes there have been far too many killings. My Government has raised this with both sides. These are killings not only of civilian populations, but also people engaged in local law enforcement. We think the general situation in the region with killings and abductions is not conducive to building an effective atmosphere to support efforts towards a settlement.

I would also like to second Ambassador Boden’s comments regarding UNOMIG. They have a tough task in this region. The personal risk he mentioned is a real one. The effectiveness of that operation, given the situation on the ground, has been significant. We heard from both parties and citizens on the ground in Abkhazia the respect they hold for that operation and the true concrete results it has attained on the ground. It is not capable of preventing or stopping all the violence in this region, but I believe it has made a serious impact in dampening that violence.

I would also like to welcome the assistance that the OSCE is providing in that region the attention it is being given by the OSCE Mission in Georgia, and by the Chairperson-in-Office’s personal representative. At the same time, it is important to emphasize our view that the division of labor between UN and the OSCE in Georgia has been an effective one, and should be maintained. We believe it is important that there be no opportunity given to any of the parties to try to "forum shop." It is difficult enough to bring them to focus on the concrete measures that are required for peace. They should not think there is an opportunity to look towards either the UN or the OSCE for an opportunity that would advantage one side over the other and give them a way to avoid dealing directly with one another over the main issues at hand.

I take note of the comments made by the Russian Federation representative and appreciate his reaffirmation of intent to fulfill the Istanbul Declaration commitment. We understand Russian concerns about security in the region—we have raised them ourselves with both the Georgian and Abkhaz representatives. But we see no reason that this situation at this point should preclude being able to meet and fulfill the deadlines that were agreed to in Istanbul.