S.Ossetian Leader Calls for Talks with Saakashvili
South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he wanted to meet with President Saakashvili and requested that the OSCE and Russia mediate in arranging a meeting.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on January 23, Kokoity said that Tskhinvali wanted to raise three key issues: demilitarization of the conflict zone, including the signing of an agreement on the non-use of force, economic rehabilitation and discussion of the political status of South Ossetia, Interfax news agency reported.
Kokoity said he wished to talk about a proposal for the creation of a so-called ?Zone of Economic Preference,? which, along with South Ossetia itself, would also incorporate the Alagiri region of Russia?s North Ossetia and the Gori region in Georgia proper, which lies to the immediate south of the breakaway region.
The proposals Kokoity mentioned were taken from a three-stage plan proposed by the South Ossetian side in late 2005 in response to similar initiatives by the Georgian side.
Davit Bakradze, the Georgian state minister for conflict resolution issues, has already responded to the South Ossetian leader’s call for talks. Top level talks, he said, could only happen if the South Ossetians were genuinely interested in resolving the conflict. He feared, he said, the initiative was but a PR stunt.
Kokoity, along with calling for talks with President Saakashvili, also reiterated Tskhinvali?s willingness to continue talks within the framework of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC). He called on Russia to ?decisively condemn? Tbilisi?s attempts to undermine the JCC. ?The JCC has not exhausted itself,? he said.
The de facto South Ossetian leader also raised the Kosovo issue, saying that ?South Ossetia has much more legal grounds to be recognized than Kosovo.? ?Within the past 16 years we have held two referenda, in which our people have confirmed their aspiration for independence,? he said.
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