Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday rejected Western efforts to mediate the conflict over Russia's support for Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia, saying, "the key to a solution is direct negotiation by all parties," according to dpa. Commenting on bilateral talks in St Petersburg on Friday, Lavrov characterized the mood between President Dmitry Medvedev and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili as "very calm" and "very quiet." "I don't believe that for Russian-Georgian relations any mediator is necessary," Lavrov said, echoing Medvedev's assertion that the two countries could best resolve difficulties "on our own." But Lavrov said Medvedev and Saakashvili had not discussed the April 20 shooting down of a Georgian spy plane, which saw their acrimonious relations burst onto the international scene. Georgia accused a Russian fighter jet of taking down the drone, but Abkhaz rebels claimed responsibility and Russia said the flights were in breach of a 1994 ceasefire agreement that left 2,500 Russian peacekeepers patrolling the breakaway region. The United States strongly condemned Russia's actions at a session of the UN Security Council, following a UN report corroborating Tbilisi's claims that Moscow was behind the shooting. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Lavrov criticized the Security Council session for not inviting Abkhaz leaders to the table. Referring to the future, he said "the ball is on the Georgian side now."
