In his latest report issued on April 25 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan noted that there have been encouraging signals from both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides of their interest in settling their conflict by peaceful means only, the UN press centre reported on May 2.
 
“The willingness of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides to resume, after a prolonged suspension, their participation in the negotiation process is a welcome development, and may usher in a period of renewed possibilities for progress,” Annan says in an update to the Security Council on the situation in breakaway Abkhazia.

“Sustained and coordinated external support will be crucial for progress,” he added.

Kofi Annan called on the Abkhaz side to ensure free and unrestricted access by the UN human rights office in Sukhumi to places of detention, in accordance with the mandate of the office.

He also hailed talks in Geneva in April of the so-called Group of Friends – France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States – which brought both sides together for the first time since suspension of the contacts in July 2004.