UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28 (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Friday extended a UN observer mission in Georgia, whose territorial integrity it defended despite a breakaway province Abkhazia.
By unanimous vote, the 15 Security Council members endorsed the six-month extension of the small UN ceasefire monitoring force, established in 1993 following the outbreak of fighting between Georgian troops and Abhkaz secessionists.
Meanwhile, the Security Council also reaffirmed on Friday its commitment to Georgia's "territorial integrity" and to "the necessity to define the status of Abkhazia with the state of Georgia in strict accordance with these principles."
The action came after the Jan 12 polls in Akhazia, which elected Moscow-backed pro-independence Sergei Bagapsh as president of the small Black Sea republic.
The Security Council also repeated its strong support for the 2001 agreement between the two sides to negotiate Abkhazia's future status, saying it "deeply regrets the continued refusal of the Abkhaz side to agree to a discussion on the substance of this document."
Deploring the lack of progress, the council called "on both sides to participate in constructive negotiations towards a political settlement."
The UN has a team of 136 military personnel in Georgian monitoring the May 1994 cease-fire accord between the two sides.
01/28/2005 20:54 GMT - AFP