NATO Special Representative's visits to Georgia and Armenia postponed

NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai’s first visits to Tbilisi and Yerevan that were scheduled for next week were postponed due to developments in the North Africa.

"Unfortunately, Appathurai was forced to postpone his visit to Georgia and Armenia. The NATO Secretary General asked him to stay in Brussels to coordinate political operations to stabilize the situation in North Africa," the NATO press service reported.

Peoples’ protests against Muhammar al-Gaddafi are underway since mid-February. The protesters demand resignation of Gaddafi ruling the country for 40 years. The country is in a state of civil war. Libyan aircraft, controlled by Gaddafi, daily struck at rebel locations.

Following the adoption of UN Security Council resolution calling for the closure of airspace over Libya, the officials announced on Friday the cessation of all hostilities against the rebels.

The resolution imposes a ban on Libyan aircraft flights, and also provides for possible military action except the use of ground forces.

Appathurai will visit the South Caucasus at the first opportunity, since NATO attaches great importance to relations with the countries of the region.

Originally scheduled for March the visit was delayed due to certain technical grounds, NATO stressed.

Appathurai took the office in November 2010. He replaced Robert Simmons, who has been working on this post for 7 years.


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