Tbilisi Responds to Russian MFA’s Accusations over S.Ossetia

The Georgian Foreign Ministry on May 30 denied accusations by Russia and said that the Georgian police “acted in accordance to the law” on May 27 in the South Ossetian conflict zone and “spared no efforts to prevent a further escalation of tensions.”

The Russian Foreign Minister accused Tbilisi on May 30 of deploying special purpose units in the conflict zone on May 27 and of blocking Russian peacekeepers’ checkpoints. The Georgian Foreign Ministry called the accusations “groundless” and said that the police units were composed of the local population of the conflict zone, in accordance with the existing agreements.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry stressed that creating a joint Georgian-Ossetian police center will help prevent incidents of this kind in the future.

Also on May 30 the Georgian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vladimir Chkhikvishvili to protest against the use of the Roki Tunnel while rotating Russian peacekeeping battalions in the South Ossetian conflict zone.