Tbilisi Offers Troop Withdrawal in Exchange for Peace

Georgian Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili said on August 16 that Tbilisi is ready to pull out part of its troops from the South Ossetian conflict zone granting that the South Ossetian militias stop attacks on Georgian villages and troops stationed there.

?Granting that peace is preserved for three days, the Georgian side will pull out 30% of its troops deployed at the by-pass roads,? Irakli Okruashvili told Rustavi 2 television on August 16.  These roads link the Georgian controlled areas with the Georgian villages North of the capital Tskhinvali

He said that in the instance that a ceasefire lasts for more three days, the Georgian side will withdraw 1/3 of the remaining troops.

The Interior Minister said that this proposal has already been approved by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.