TBILISI. Aug 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The joint demining effort planned by Georgia and Abkhazia for the Marukh Mountain Pass area of the Kodori Gorge for the near future "is a step toward restoring confidence between the conflicting sides," Georgian Minister without Portfolio Malkhaz Kakabadze told Interfax on Thursday.
"Russian peacekeepers and UN military observers will not take part in the demining, but that does not mean the preliminary agreement will fail," Kakabadze said.
"The main accent should be put on direct dialog between Abkhazia and Georgia" along with international mediators' settlement, the minister said.
Emzar Kvitsiani, the Georgian president's envoy to the Kodori Gorge, told Interfax that Georgia had formed a sapper unit for demining the Kodori Gorge.