United Nations Radio

International talks on the situation in Georgia have been taking place in Geneva.

Georgian and Russian officials met behind closed doors at the start of talks which are jointly sponsored by the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Speaking in Geneva ahead of the talks, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said the United Nations will continue to engage the parties to the conflict in order to reach a workable settlement to the crisis. Patrick Maigua sent us this report from Geneva.

The talks between Russian and Georgian officials come in the wake of last August's five day war in which Russian forces fought to repel Georgian troops which had launched an attack to regain control of the region of South Ossestia. A ceasefire brokered by France has seen the withdrawal of Russian forces from South Ossestia. Speaking in Geneva after meeting with the co sponsors of the talks, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said he was encouraged by the general consensus among the parties to resolve the issue through dialogue.

"United Nations will continue to provide the necessary facilitation. I am here to support international dialogue. I am here to support the role of the European Union and the OSCE and United Nations will continue to engage in this process."

Mr Ban called for patience while addressing the issue, saying the talks in Geneva were only the beginning and could take time.

"In the short term we need to try our best efforts among the parties concerned to restore confidence, so that we can establish a good conflict resolution process in the end. In the medium and long term we need to look at how this has impacted on the whole region. We need to look at the humanitarian aspect, including the displaced persons and how we can rebuild the confidence and trust among the parties concerned."

The Secretary-General is represented in the talks by his new Georgian envoy, Johan Verbeke.

Patrick Maigua Un Radio Geneva.

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