Despite CIS peacekeepers' five-year presence in the Georgian region of Abkhazia, experts at the Russian Defense Ministry say the situation in the country remains tense. The inability to reach a resolution on the issue of the region's status - central to the conflict since its 1992 outburst - remains at the heart of the tension.

Russia has been stringing along both sides in the conflict and seeking to maintain close ties with all involved parties, observers say.

Russia closed its border with Abkhazia in order to show solidarity with Georgia's claims of its territorial integrity. All Russian-Georgian negotiations on the issue have centered on returning tens of thousands of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia - a stand naturally favored by Georgia.

At the same time, Russian forces have refused to police Abkhazia and gave a green light when local authorities in Sukhumi organized an independent police force.

Maintaining several military bases in Abkhazia and an army health resort in Novy Afon, Russia has transferred all of its frontier strongholds to Abkhazia. Recently, Russian border troops pulled out from the border points at Zandripsh - the last of the seven formerly Russian frontiers - and allowed the local military to move in. From July, Abkhazian troops have been guarding the Commonwealth of Independent States' Black Sea border.

That gives Abkhazia de facto sovereign status as a state capable of protecting its own borders. Its relative independence from Georgia has been further enhanced by its use of Russian rubles as opposed to the Georgian currency - the lari - in its economic transactions.

Georgia, headed by President Eduard Shevardnadze, is obviously displeased with the situation. It has repeatedly declared itself willing to join NATO and relieve itself of the burden of Russian military bases and peacekeeping aid.

Following NATO's recent victory over Yugoslavia and the consequent return of Albanian refugees to Kosovo, Shevarnadze stated publicly that he considers a similar scenario desirable for the Abkhazian conflict.

Georgian parliament members are even more adamant on the issue. In a recent statement, the chairman of the parliament, Zurab Zhvania, said that Western states' action in Kosovo "set an example of how a complicated ethnic conflict can be resolved, an ethnic cleansing policy halted and genocide prevented from use as a political weapon."

It is clear from such statements some politicians in Georgia are trying to push the resolution of the Abkhazian conflict to the international community.

But Russia remains an obstacle in any such possibility, and lends its support to Sukhumi's separatist aspirations, ostensibly based on historical considerations.

Should the next Russian president support the views of nationalists and Communists in the State Duma (lower house of parliament) - who say Abkhazia should stand alone - Russia's "third force" participation in separating Abkhazia from Georgia might no longer be a matter of political debate.