EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE

drew a parallel between Abkhazia, where a Russian-backed ethnic Abkhaz majority has expelled the Georgian ethnic minority, and Bosnia, where a similar "ethnic cleansing" occurred. Shevardnadze will lead a diplomatic campaign to gain international support for the use of force to restore Georgians to their homes in the breakaway province. Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Abkhaz leaders have responded by warning that any international "peace enforcement" would inevitably lead to war.