Ban rejects Georgian claim he was ‘blackmailed’ by Russia

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spoke out against Georgia’s claim that he was coerced by Russia into amending his recent report on the Caucasus nation.

Last week, Mr. Ban’s report to the Security Council – in which he wrote that the UN Mission in the country (UNOMIG) has contributed to the local population’s overall security but cautioned that an agreement on a revised security regime is needed for lasting stability – was made public.

Yesterday’s claim made by Ambassador Alexander Lomaia of Georgia “that the Secretary-General amended his report on Georgia in response to ‘Russian blackmail’ is categorically rejected,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Mr. Lomaia made the claims at a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

The statement added that the Secretary-General’s main concern in the drafting of his report on Georgia has been that “all concerned parties should engage on the substantive issues in question, more specifically on a mechanism to guarantee safety and security in this troubled region.”

The adoption of the publication’s title – “Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolutions 1808 (2008), 1839 (2008) and 1866 (2009)” – “was meant to avoid unnecessary politicization of the debate among members of the Security Council and reflected his view of what all members could live with.”