Burjanadze: Two Options under Consideration for Peacekeepers

Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze said at a plenary session on February 14 that there are currently two options under consideration regarding the Parliament’s future steps over the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in the South Ossetian conflict zone.

She said that Parliament will either confirm its support for the October 11 resolution – which means that procedures for withdrawal of the peacekeepers should be launched immediately – or will approve a new resolution at the parliamentary session on February 15.

If a new resolution is approved, it is likely that the Parliament will instruct the government within a month to prepare a detailed plan of measures which will be undertaken to provide for the withdrawal of the peacekeepers, MP Givi Targamadze, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, told Civil Georgia on February 13.

Opposition parliamentarians claim that there is no need to adopt a new resolution, as the October 11 resolution already envisages a launch of withdrawal procedures if the assessment of the peacekeepers’ performance is negative. At committee hearings on February 13 top  government officials described the Russian peacekeepers as ineffective.

After these hearings on February 13 Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze held additional consultations with Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli and State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Giorgi Khaindrava over this issue.

The October 11 resolution of the Georgian Parliament reads: “The Parliament of Georgia, in the event that the processes provided for in Paragraph 2 [to report Parliament on situation in S.Ossetia] are negatively assessed and no progress is witnessed, shall demand cessation of the peace-keeping operation on the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous District, as well as denunciation of the relevant international agreements and abolition of the existing structures starting from 15 February 2006.”