Georgia Calls on Russian Peacekeepers to Resolve Crisis in South Ossetia

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said on July 8 that Russian peacekeepers, deployed in breakaway South Ossetia, ?face a major test,? as the situation in the conflict zone intensifies after the detention of the Georgian peacekeepers by South Ossetian authorities.

?It?s a challenge for the Russian peacekeepers. They should defuse tensions and the Georgian peacekeepers should be released. If the Russian peacekeepers fail, their credibility, as well as their effectivness, becomes questionable,? Zurab Zhvania said at a specially convened news briefing.

Around 50 Georgian peacekeepers were disarmed and detained in the early hours of July 8 in the Georgian village of Vanati, in breakaway South Ossetia.

?Everything is being done to avoid the use of force. This is a provocation and we will not yield to this provocation,? the Georgian Prime Minister said.