Vitaly Churkin said that since discussions held in Geneva last Thursday did not lead to anything substantial, the United Nations would handle the problem.
"As far as I know, the consultations in Geneva did not lead to any concrete agreements; therefore, that work will be handed over to us," the diplomat said. "We will have to work out a new mandate for the mission by February 15."
"The name of the UN mission in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone has changed in the new resolution since the geopolitical reality has changed," he added. "We believe it is incorrect to operate with the names used earlier. It is now simply called a UN mission."
The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) was established in August 1993 to verify compliance with the ceasefire agreement between the Georgian government and the authorities in Abkhazia. The October 9, 2008, resolution that extended the UN mandate to February 15, 2009, referred only to "the United Nations mission" but recalled all previous resolutions and did not change the official name of the mission.
Unlike the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, the UN Security Council had no role in the South Ossetian-Georgian settlement, which established the Joint Control Commission between Russia, Georgia and the South Ossetian authorities.
"South Ossetia came into the Security Council's view only when Georgia attacked South Ossetia; therefore, strictly speaking, the Security Council does not have a mandate or agenda for the South Ossetian situation," Churkin said.
Russia recognized the disputed Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26, two weeks after a five-day war with Georgia, which launched an attack on South Ossetia to try and regain control of the region. Georgia and Russia have no diplomatic relations at the moment.
Churkin said that in regard to the situation in the Caucasus in its entirety, "at this stage the Security Council has not set any concrete goals."
"So far such a political task has not been placed before us. We'll see how the conclusions to the Geneva discussions are analyzed and perhaps upon the completion of the discussions, we will be given that type of task," he said.
"The Security Council will get more involved if the task is expanded to the UN," the diplomat said.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia have so far only been recognized by Russia and Nicaragua. Belarus has said it may recognize the breakaway regions in the future, and Venezuela has voiced support for Russia's move.
