ST. PETERSBURG. Feb 27 (Interfax-Northwest) - The council of defense ministers of the CIS countries has considered the possibility of expanding the peacekeeping contingent in Abkhazia.
Previously, the peacekeeping contingent was only made up of Russian servicemen, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and his Georgian counterpart David Tevzadze told a Wednesday briefing in St. Petersburg.
Ivanov and Tevzadze did not name the CIS countries that could send peacekeeping units to Abkhazia.
The council of defense ministers also made a decision on the command of the peacekeeping contingent, but no names were announced.
Ivanov said that 88 Russian peacekeepers have died in Abkhazia during the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict.