The latest extension for the United Nations Observation Mission in Georgia has been universally praised by all sides in the Abkhazian conflict. While the Russian government stressed the decree includes all of Moscow’s ‘priorities,’ Tbilisi is also praising the document for its support of Georgia’s position in the Kodori gorge, as well as the government’s position on refugees.

On April 13, the UN Security Council passed resolution 1752, the biannual extension of the UN’s monitoring operation in the Abkhazian conflict zone. Although the mandate has already been in existence for over a decade, it has only been in the past year that the Security Council’s biannual vote has taken on serious political implications.

Six months ago, under resolution 1716, the Security Council passed a resolution widely characterized as pro-Russian. It reprimanded Tbilisi for its July police action in the Kodori gorge in upper Abkhazia, and for its decision to move the Georgian-backed Abkhazian government-in-exile to the gorge permanently. This year, however, instead of another slap on the wrist, Georgia received what amounts to neutral support for its continued presence in the gorge – the Abkhaz de facto government was called on to exercise caution in its relations with the Georgian government, in particular residents of the Kodori gorge, a tiny island of Georgian authority in the conflict zone. In addition, an earlier UN statement noted that the number of weapons and armaments in the conflict zone had decreased and Georgia was fulfilling its obligations under the mandate.

The only glaring omission in the resolution concerning Kodori was the council’s lack of any definitive position over the March 11-12 bombing campaign on the administrative center of the gorge. While the UN did use the resolution to decry the attack, its diplomatic language did not shed any light on who is to blame for the bombing. Georgian authorities maintain that three surface-to-surface missiles were fired from Russian Mi-24s that flew into Georgian airspace from Russia. However, Moscow has denied any involvement, and the UN-led fact-finding mission has yet to announce any definitive result to their month-long investigation.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry praised the resolution, largely for its support of the Georgian initiative to expedite the return of the more than 200,000 Georgian displaced persons to their previous homes in Abkhazia. While the move to return the IDPs is nothing new, this resolution was the first time the UN stated that not only are the refugees themselves important, but so is the new, younger generation which – although they have never lived in Abkhazia – certainly has also suffered due to a conflict they did not cause.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has also expressed support for the document, mentioning that it contains all of Moscow’s ‘priorities’ for the conflict, which largely consist of the continued support for the Russian-led CIS peacekeeping force stationed in the conflict zone as part of the 1994 cease-fire agreement.

Despite continued efforts on Tbilisi’s part, the UN once again maintained its support for the CIS peacekeepers and their role in maintaining stability in the region. The Georgian government has repeatedly attempted to overturn the 1994 agreement and internationalize the all-Russian peacekeeping force. However, resolution 1752 is unambiguous in its support for the peacekeepers’ mandate, which means Tbilisi will have to wait another six months to try to upset Russia’s continued presence in the conflict zone.

Resolution 1752 is certainly a diplomatic victory for Tbilisi – especially in comparison to resolution 1716 passed in October 2006. Georgia received support for fulfilling its obligations to date and an impetus for new negotiations with the de facto authorities ‘without preconditions.’ However the UN’s continued reluctance to recognize the shortcomings of the Russian-led CIS peacekeeping force remains an obstacle if Tbilisi is determined to internationalize the peacekeeping and negotiation formats in the conflict zone.