Interior Minister Holds Talks in Tskhinvali

Georgian Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili is visiting the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, to hold talks with the authorities in the breakaway region in an attempt to facilitate the release of some 50 Georgian peacekeepers detained in South Ossetia by local militia groups.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Defense and Security, Givi Targamadze, told the Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 television station late on July 8 that the Georgian side expects the release of the hostages by the morning of July 9.