Tbilisi Calls for Informal JCC Session in Tskhinvali

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Merab Antadze reiterated on January 30 his readiness to participate in an informal ?information session? of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission over South Ossetia in the second half of February.

?As far as the venue of the meeting is concerned, we deem it reasonable to hold the session on the territory of Georgia, in particularly in Tskhinvali [capital of breakaway South Ossetia],? a statement issued by the State Minister?s office reads.

Tbilisi has been pushing to scrap the JCC, the current Russian-led negotiating format that involves negotiators from the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and Russia?s North Ossetian sides. Officials in Tbilisi say the arrangement is ?outdated and unfair.? For this reason the Georgian side has refrained from participating in routine, official sessions of the Commission.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, called on the parties involved to resume talks ?as soon as possible to look for effective ways of reducing tension.?

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