(Adds Georgia's reaction in para 5)
MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged Georgia and its breakaway republic of Abkhazia on Thursday to honor terms of a 1994 ceasefire deal, as well as UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.
Medvedev made the statement at a meeting earlier in the day with Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, a Kremlin spokesman said.
"[Medvedev] stressed that any progress in this direction could only be made on the basis of earlier reached agreements, primarily the Moscow agreement on ceasefire and separation of forces of May 14, 1994, and relevant UN Security Council resolutions," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.
Bagapsh pointed to the remarkable role of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone and thanked Russia for supporting Abkhazia and its assistance with social, economic and humanitarian problems in the rebel republic.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze described the meeting as "outrageous," adding that the Russian president had welcomed "a leader of separatists, responsible for ethnic cleansing of Georgians."
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Between 10,000 and 30,000 people were killed in the subsequent hostilities.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained in recent months, since Russia stepped up support for Abkhazia and sent more peacekeeping troops into the region. Tbilisi has accused the Kremlin of trying to annex the territory and shooting down an unmanned reconnaissance plane.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Tbilisi's claims that it is seeking to annex Abkhazia and has condemned Georgia's policy toward the rebel region, which Russia says could lead to new bloodshed.
