Tbilisi Says Arrested Peacekeepers are Georgian

Russian claims that two peacekeepers, Tariel Khachirov and Vitaly Valiev, who were arrested in the South Ossetian conflict zone on August 29, are citizens of Russia has been rejected by Georgia. They are Georgian citizens, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on September 14.

?The Georgian side therefore considers it absolutely unacceptable and beyond understanding the demands made by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the Georgian side,? the statement reads.

On September 13 the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Georgia ?unconditionally? release the two peacekeepers, who were charged with the illegal detention of Georgian citizens. Moscow warned that Georgia, if it refused to release the peacekeepers, would have to assume full responsibility for any negative consequences for bilateral relations.

?The impression we have is that certain elements in Russia are trying to use the detentions for their own ends, namely to worsen the already tense situation in the conflict region and to derail bilateral relations between Georgia and Russia,? the statement reads.

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