Tbilisi Calls on Moscow for Constructiveness over S.Ossetia

The Georgian Foreign Ministry called on the Russian side on February 17 “to accept with understanding” the Georgian Parliament”s resolution on South Ossetia and peacekeepers stationed there and to undertake constructive steps and assist in implementation of the Tbilisi”s peace plan to solve the South Ossetian conflict.
 
“We believe the potential of the peacekeeping process is not exhausted… we consider that implementation of the OSCE Statement on Georgia supported by Russia in Ljubljana [in December] is real. The Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia rather than supporting further escalation of the tension in the region and cessation of peacekeeping operation, aims at elaborating new effective international mechanisms and broadening the negotiating format. This Resolution also envisages revising the Sochi Agreement of June 24, 1992, and promoting interaction between Georgia and Russia in order to create a more favorable environment for the peace process,” a statement issued by the Georgian Foreign Ministry on February 17 reads.
 
The Georgian Foreign Ministry also noted that amid the international community”s full support for the Peace Plan, the allegations of the Russian Foreign Ministry that “the Peace Plan endorsed by OSCE does not exist at all” triggers bewilderment.
 
The Georgian Foreign Ministry also notes that “the existing ineffective negotiating format” – the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC) – does not foster “a constructive dialogue and obstruct full-scale resolution of the conflict.”