State Minister Speaks of Necessity of Following Agreements over South Ossetia

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Goga Khaindrava said, while addressing the parliamentarians on February 24, that in certain cases the Georgian side has violated an agreement which prohibits the deployment of extra troops in the South Ossetian conflict zone.

?For example, the deployment of a training camp for the reserve forces in the village of Dzevera is a violation [of this agreement],? Goga Khaindrava said.

The reserve forces camp in Dzevera, which is located in the Gori district in central Georgia, just 10 km away from the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, was set up last November. Only joint ? Georgian, Ossetian and Russian ? peacekeeping troops are authorized to be deployed in the conflict zone, according to a 1992 peace agreement. The agreement also defines the conflict zone as the territory that resides within a 15-kilometer radius from the center of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

?These kinds of violations create problems for us. When the observers from the OSCE are denied entry into Dzevera to monitor the situation there, reports are written and sent to Vienna [the OSCE headquarters] immediately,? the Georgian State Minister, who was summoned by the parliamentarians to report on the current developments in the conflict zone, said.

He also said that if there are some provisions in the agreements signed by the Georgian side over the South Ossetian conflict issue, which do not correspond Tbilisi?s interests, ?we should identify these provisions and start the process of annulling these provisions.?

?But while these agreements are in force, we should remain committed [to these provisions],? Goga Khaindrava said.