Progress seen in Russia-Georgia talks

GENEVA - Mediators succeeded yesterday in getting direct talks going between Russia and Georgia, pressing the two neighbors to resolve security and refugee issues from their August war in the troubled Caucasus.

In all, eight parties met behind closed doors at the UN's Geneva headquarters for the one-day talks and agreed to meet again next month, EU representative Pierre Morel said.

"Today we have taken a big step forward," Morel said. "All of the participants have recognized that the security situation remains quite unsatisfactory."

The UN refugee agency estimates more than 30,000 people are still unable to return to their homes.

"There are places where ethnic clashes and ethnic hatred still prevail," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said.

His comments were mirrored by Georgia's Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria, who said he feared "ethnic cleansing in those occupied territories where ethnic Georgians still live."

Morel said it was the first time that all of the parties had met directly. An initial attempt at negotiations broke down last month, in part over disagreements whether representatives from Georgia's two breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, should take part.

Maxim Gvindzhiya of Abkhazia's separatist government said his delegation and one from South Ossetia attended on an informal basis this time.

The other participants were the EU, UN, US, Russia, Georgia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said the talks "went far better" than last time.

"There were productive discussions," but "there remain vast areas of fundamental differences," Fried said. "There were and are a lot of people with guns . . . who just want to shoot."

ASSOCIATED PRESS