On 15 May 2008, at 16.45 EDT, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations Irakli Alasania will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

On 14 May 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia sent a Note concerning the withdrawal of Georgia from the Agreement of 10 February 1995 on the Creation of the Integrated Air Defense System of the CIS member states to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus as a depositary of the Agreement.

Question: How will you assess the reply of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson B. Malakhov to a media question regarding the statements that US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza made in Tbilisi and Sokhumi?

On 12 May 2008 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Maris Riekstins, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland  Radosław Sikorski and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Petras Vaitiekūnas will pay a working visit to Georgia.

On 9 May 2008 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Eka Tkeshelashvili met with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Matthew Bryza.

On 8 May 2008 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Eka Tkeshelashvili met with the delegation of the EU Troika at the level of political directors.

In response to the press statement released on 8 May 2008 by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation mentioning that the UN Chief Military Observer in Georgia General N. Khattak agreed that the Russian Federation’s recent steps do not contradict basic agreements on the conduct of the peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia posted a press release clarifying that UNOMIG has no authority to pronounce on the conformity between the CIS peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia, Georgia and CIS rules.

Question: On 8 May 2008, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation issued a press release stating that the mandate of the CIS peacekeeping contingent deployed on the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia was extended by the UN Security Council’s resolution adopted in April 2008. How will you comment on this statement?