Such settlement will promote the interests of all who live in the entire Georgia and its breakaway republics, he pointed out.
It is necessary to upgrade the quality of life in those republics-but there is no way to tackle such matters before negotiators come to an accord on their constitutional arrangements, warned Mr. Davis.
The Council of Europe is a huge organization, with 46 member countries. It stretches from Russia to Portugal, and from Iceland to Turkey. Many of its countries are facing similar problems, said the CE Secretary General as he went over to the Kosovo issue.
The Council of Europe will take the United Nations' side whatever decision the UN makes on the autonomy's future. The future Kosovo status is within UN competence. The matter is to be settled this year, and the CE will support any UN decision.
The Council of Europe has not the slightest intention to encourage separatist moods in whatever country, stressed Mr. Davis.
He highlighted dynamic CE activities in Kosovo-in particular, expert efforts with ethnic Albanians and Serbs on the decentralization issue.
The United Nations is to proceed from an agreement for its decision on Kosovo, he emphasized.
