Saakashvili’s Statement on Russian Peacekeeping Forces

April 24, remarks aired live by the Georgian TV stations.

…The yesterday’s session of the UN Security Council was the first one – since the UN mandate has been in force in respect of Abkhazia – when the Group of Friends was divided. Four members of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends on Georgia have made their joint statement in which they criticized the Russian Federation [also part of the Group of Friends]. This is the first case for past 14 years, when the Group was set up. I think this is something on which our friends and partners in Moscow should seriously think over.

By making such a decision, they have crossed the line beyond which normal relations and normal international diplomatic process are seriously jeopardized.

Georgia is a constructive, peaceful country. We are interested in close, friendly relations with the Russian Federation. But we cannot tolerate any steps, which will be directed towards annexation of the most important part of the Georgian territory, legalization of the results of ethnic cleansing and which will be used as a subtext for making Georgia change its foreign political orientation, its political system.

We have the following position: we clearly support peaceful settlement of conflicts. Our friends from the UN, as well as our partners and the United States have questioned Russia’s role as a neutral mediator in the process. It makes us to launch consultations with our friends over revision of the UN Mission’s format and reinforcing this mission, as well as over increasing the role and the status of a mediator of the friendly states in the both conflict zones.

But at the same time, we will launch intensive negotiations with all our friends over the expediency of further presence of the Russian peacekeeping contingent there. We will inform the Russian Federation about our decision, which is a sovereign decision of the Georgian state. I stress – Georgia will not take a single step, which will pose a threat to peace and security in this region. But today the presence of the Russian contingent there, as well as the recent actions, creates a risk factor in the conflict zone. Therefore, we do not plan to take any sudden, hasty or unjustified steps that will create problems to peace and security. We will take only such steps, which will promote peace building and peaceful resolution of conflict.

At the same time, we sent a letter to Moscow yesterday, in which we expressed readiness, simultaneously with revising Russia’s decisions – and we, as well as the European Union, all partners in the peace process, absolute majority of the European states, practically all post-Soviet countries expect it, we also have the position of the CIS member states, who also do not like these decisions – so, simultaneously with changing and revising these decisions, we are ready to carry out thorough negotiations with Russia over the development of our bilateral relations, rapprochement of our peoples, peaceful resolution of conflicts, taking into account the interests of all citizens living in the conflict zones.

Our task is to avoid any serious complications and make the peace process irreversible in frames of Georgia’s territorial integrity and those peace initiatives, which have been supported by all members of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends, excluding Russia, by the European Union and the United States…