VZCZCXYZ0020
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #2903 1141649
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 231643Z APR 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 1460
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 3763
RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI IMMEDIATE 7404

UNCLAS STATE 042903 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL PBTS GE RU
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE:  UNSC EMERGENCY MEETING ON GEORGIA 
 
REF: A. USUN 356 
     ¶B. TBILISI 614 
     ¶C. MOSCOW 1055 
 
¶1. Action request: Department requests that USUN deliver the 
following statement in para 2 below at the UNSC meeting on 
Georgia scheduled for Wednesday, April 23.  End Action 
Request. 
 
 
¶2. Begin statement: 
 
--  Thank you, Mr. President.  I would like to welcome 
Georgian Foreign Minister Bakradze to the Council today. 
 
--  The United States is deeply concerned by the April 16 
Russian Presidential Instructions authorizing increased 
contacts between the Russian government and the separatist 
regime in Abkhazia and South Ossetia without the approval of 
the Georgian government.  With that in mind, I would like to 
make four points. 
 
--  First, this step challenges Georgia's territorial 
integrity and is not in keeping with Russia's status as a 
"facilitator" of the peace process. 
 
--  In numerous Security Council resolutions, including 
resolution 1808 that we passed last week, this Council has 
reaffirmed the commitment of all member states 
 
to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity 
of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders; and 
 
to settlement of the conflict within the framework of 
Security Council resolutions. 
 
--  Second, we urge Russia to live up to its statements of 
support for the principles of Georgia's sovereignty, to abide 
by the resolutions of this Council reaffirming Georgia's 
territorial integrity, and to repeal the April 16 
instructions. 
 
--  As we have previously stated, we regret the Russian 
decision to withdraw unilaterally from Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) economic and military sanctions on 
Abkhazia.  While we recognize assurances that we have 
received from Russian government officials that Russia will 
continue to adhere to military sanctions against Abkhazia, 
the lifting of CIS sanctions has raised concerns over 
military transparency in the region.  We believe the 
withdrawal of sanctions undermines the peace process. 
 
-- We also express our serious concern regarding the shooting 
down of a Georgian unmanned aerial vehicle in Georgian 
airspace this past weekend.  We call for an end to all armed 
incursions into Georgia's airspace, which constitute a 
serious breach of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial 
integrity.  The U.S. regards both the violation of Georgia's 
airspace and the shooting down of the UAV as acts that 
escalate tensions in the region. We call on all sides to 
exercise restraint in a highly volatile region. 
 
--  Third, the United States welcomes the new initiatives put 
forward by the Georgian president to advance a negotiated 
political resolution of the Abkhazia conflict.  We urge the 
de facto authorities in Abkhazia to respond constructively to 
these initiatives, as well as the previous 
confidence-building measures proposed in Geneva in 2007, and 
hope that Moscow will encourage Abkhazia's de facto 
authorities to do so. 
 
--  Finally, we call on all parties to pursue a peaceful 
resolution of the separatist conflicts in Georgia.  There is 
no military solution to this conflict, and we strongly urge 
all parties to refrain from any use of military force and to 
work to de-escalate and reduce tensions.  We encourage the 
Russian government to work constructively within the Group of 
Friends of the UN Secretary General and other international 
frameworks to promote political settlement of the conflicts. 
 
--  Thank you, Mr. President. 
 
end statement. 
RICE