Tbilisi, Tskhinvali at Odds over Entry Permits in the Conflict Zone

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Giorgi Khaindrava expressed protest after the South Ossetian side denied the provision of security for Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, who planned to visit Georgian villages in the conflict zone on October 30.  
 
Nogaideli and Khaindrava planned to travel through the conflict zone via the major road, which passes through the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. However the visit was postponed due officially to bad weather conditions. But the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee issued a statement on October 30 saying that the visit was postponed because the Georgian side did not notify the  breakaway region?s Foreign Ministry about this trip. ?Hence, the Georgian leadership was denied entry,? the statement reads.
 
?The statement of the South Ossetian side that the Georgian Prime Minister has to receive permission from [the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry] to visit the Tskhinvali region [of the South Ossetian conflict zone] lacks logic and is absolutely groundless. What kind of foreign relations between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali do they [the South Ossetian side] speak of?? Khaindrava told reporters on October 31.

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