Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh ruled out the possibility of replacing the current Russian-led peacekeeping operation with an international police force.

“There can not be any international police force on our territory,” Bagapsh told Interfax news agency on July 8. “We are not going to listen to the recommendations of the U.S. Department of State, which is always taking a one-sided, pro-Georgian position.”

The U.S. Department of State said in a statement on July 7 that there was “the urgent need for an international police presence” in the Abkhaz conflict zone.

The Georgian government reiterated in a statement on July 7 that it wanted a joint Georgian-Abkhaz joint police force in Gali and Ochamchire under international supervision.