Tskhinvali Claims Water Pipe Still Unrepaired

Authorities in Tskhinvali said that water supply had not yet been restored to the breakaway region?s capital, as repair work being carried out by the Georgian side was dragging on.

?Repair work by the Georgian side is being carried out slowly and with low-quality,? the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee said on June 7.

Dimitri Sanakoev, the head of the Tbilisi-loyal South Ossetian provisional administration, said earlier on June 6 that his administration had already repaired the damaged water pipeline on the Georgian-controlled territory of the region.

?Now it is up to the Tskhinvali-based structures, in charge of water system operations, to restore water supply in Tskhinvali,? Sanakoev said.

Meanwhile, in Tbilisi, Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Merab Antadze met with Russian chief negotiator for South Ossetian issues Yuri Popov.

Antadze told Imedi television after the talks that the Georgian side?s message to Tskhinvali was for the separatists to immediately stop using water problems for political gain and to unblock roads towards Georgian villages.

?The water pipeline has already been repaired, but the de facto [South Ossetian] authorities themselves are refusing to supply water in an attempt to portray the Georgian side and the provisional administration in a bad light? Antadze said.

Yuri Popov, who represents the Russian side in the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC) on South Ossetian conflict resolution, left for Tskhinvali after the talks.

?Beside this, we also demand an immediate meeting of the [JCC] co-chairmen in order to resolve a number of problems, including joint patrols of currently uncontrolled roads which are currently used for arms trafficking and movement of illegal armed groups; we also want to discuss disarmament of illegal paramilitary groups,? Antadze said.

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