SUKHUMI, Abkhazia, April 19 (AVN) - The quadrilateral negotiations on peacekeeping in Abkhazia originally planned for Thursday failed to happen in Gudauta, a spokesman for the UN mission in Georgia told the Military News Agency.
The reason for cancellation was the Abkhazian party's refusal to participate in the meeting. An earlier agreement on hostages exchange was cancelled as well, UN Special Representative Dieter Boden who is currently in Sukhumi said. The case is that Georgian guerrillas captured five Abkhazian servicemen at the Abkhazian territory after two Georgian guerrillas were killed and three captured during the shootout with the Abkhazian unit in the Ochamchiri district. Later Abkhazian officials said that three captured Georgian guerrillas were officers of a Georgian special service.
The situation in the area is close to emergency, a spokesman for the collective peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone told the Military News Agency.