"The refugees [who have already returned] will be re-registered only by UNHCR officials - neither Georgia nor Abkhazia should take part in the process for the sake of objectivity," the ministry's ambassador-at-large, Mikhail Bocharnikov, said following Georgian-Abkhazian talks that ended in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Georgian Minister for Conflict Settlement Georgy Khaindrava said Thursday that Abkhazia objected to Georgia's participation in refugee re-registration.
Georgian-Abkhazian talks attended by Russian and UN representatives approved the re-registration plan, drafted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, but did not specify a timeframe, citing technical reasons.
During the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict of 1992-93, more than 300,000 people, including 240,000 ethnic Georgians, fled Abkhazia. According to Tbilisi, about 40,000 people have since returned, but Abkhazian officials put the number at 60,000. These differences prompted the decision to re-register the refugees who had already returned to Abkhazia.
