An agreement to adopt the resolution was achieved on Thursday, a day before the vote, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Photo: Yury Gripas
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UN Resolution on Georgia Adopted
The UN Security Council has passed Russia-inspired resolution on Georgia after the United States gave it the go-ahead. The Americans apparently hope that Russia will respond with a more neutral stance on the North Korean issue. A resolution on North Korea could boost the popularity of the U.S. Republican administration ahead of the Congress election.
Moscow had to give a spin to the wording of some articles of the resolution. However, two key points remained. The resolution expressed concern over Georgia’s actions in the Kodori Gorge and extending the mission of Russian peacekeepers in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone to April 15, 2007. The resolution also called on Georgia to “refrain from provocative statements and actions” in relation to Abkhazia and “avoid steps which could be viewed as a threat.” An agreement to adopt the resolution was made on Thursday, a day before the vote, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The U.S. Republican administration is evidently anxious to show some progress or achievement now, a month before the Congress election. A resolution on North Korea could be of help here. However, Russia and China still oppose it. Giving Moscow the go-ahead on Georgia, Washington hopes for a trade-off from the Russian party on the Pyongyang issue.
The United States presented a more lenient draft resolution to the UN on Friday. The new draft restricts embargo on armaments supplies to North Korea to military hardware and technologies that can be used in producing missiles and atomic bombs.
A few hours after the new draft was sent UN Security Council members, the Council’s five permanent members and the presiding Japan met for a close-door session. U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton was happy to say after the meeting that a lot of significant contradictions had been settled.
Meanwhile, Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov held talks with China’s State Council member Tang Jiaxuan in Moscow on Friday. After America has softened its stance on Georgia, Moscow may try to convince its Chinese counterparts to overlook some controversial points of U.S. resolution on North Korea. The UN Security Council is expected to hold the vote today.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 14, 2006
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