Lavrov, Kokoity Discuss South Ossetian Conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity in Moscow on January 19 to discuss the current situation in the South Ossetian conflict zone, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

?The sides stressed the need for urgent and effective measures that would help find a way out of the deadlock in the process of [Georgian-Ossetian] negotiations. The lack of positive dynamics in this issue could become a destabilizing factor for South Ossetia and the entire region and lead to aggravated confrontation, including armed, in the conflict zone,? the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an information note.

The sides expressed concern over Tbilisi?s unwillingness to sign a document on non-resumption of hostilities with the South Ossetian side, confirmed their readiness for close cooperation in the frames of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), and called on the Georgian side to resume joint activities in the current negotiating format, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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