Georgia Downgrades Presence at JCC

In what has been seen as a further blow to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on South Ossetia, State Minister Davit Bakradze has relinquished his position as co-chairman of the body.

He has been replaced by his deputy, Dimitri Manjavidze, in what has been interpreted as another sign of Tbilisi’s disenchantment with the body.

The JCC also involves negotiators from the South Ossetian, Russian and Russia?s North Ossetian sides.

Tskhinvali has condemned Tbilisi?s move as yet another attempt to undermine the existing negotiating format.

While Moscow and Tskhinvali want to maintain the present negotiation arrangement, wherein the Russian side is perceived to have the upper-hand, Tbilisi has been pushing for its replacement for some time.

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