Georgia demands Russia withdraw from S. Ossetia
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Thursday, 16 February: 14.10 CET) – Georgia’s parliament has unanimously voted for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the breakaway republic of South Ossetia and their replacement with international forces, news agencies reported.
The resolution also calls on the government to review a 1992 agreement that set up the peacekeeping arrangement.
No deadline for the Russian withdrawal has been given.
Georgian officials claim that Russia is essentially working towards annexing South Ossetia.
In 1992, Georgia and Russia signed an agreement for the deployment of Russian, Georgian, South Ossetian, and North Ossetian peacekeepers.
The Georgian government has vowed to bring South Ossetia and another breakaway republic, Abkhazia, under central government control through peaceful means. Both broke away from Georgia following wars in the early 1990s.
Earlier this month, Georgian police impounded a Russian peacekeeping vehicle truck that had been involved in a traffic accident near South Ossetia. On late January, two Russian soldiers were arrested and accused of spying near a Georgian Interior Ministry facility.
On Thursday, Russian authorities responded to the Georgian parliament’s resolution, saying Russian troops would not withdraw. “Russian peacekeepers continue their mission in the conflict zone in the framework of their mandate,” news agencies quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Georgian resolution was “a matter of concern to Moscow as it follows the anti-Russian campaign that has been gaining momentum in Georgia over the past several weeks”, the statement said.
Russia peacekeepers also operate in another Georgian separatist area, Abkhazia, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
The resolution also calls on the government to review a 1992 agreement that set up the peacekeeping arrangement.
No deadline for the Russian withdrawal has been given.
Georgian officials claim that Russia is essentially working towards annexing South Ossetia.
In 1992, Georgia and Russia signed an agreement for the deployment of Russian, Georgian, South Ossetian, and North Ossetian peacekeepers.
The Georgian government has vowed to bring South Ossetia and another breakaway republic, Abkhazia, under central government control through peaceful means. Both broke away from Georgia following wars in the early 1990s.
Earlier this month, Georgian police impounded a Russian peacekeeping vehicle truck that had been involved in a traffic accident near South Ossetia. On late January, two Russian soldiers were arrested and accused of spying near a Georgian Interior Ministry facility.
On Thursday, Russian authorities responded to the Georgian parliament’s resolution, saying Russian troops would not withdraw. “Russian peacekeepers continue their mission in the conflict zone in the framework of their mandate,” news agencies quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Georgian resolution was “a matter of concern to Moscow as it follows the anti-Russian campaign that has been gaining momentum in Georgia over the past several weeks”, the statement said.
Russia peacekeepers also operate in another Georgian separatist area, Abkhazia, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
posted by Marko at 2/16/2006 07:16:00 AM
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