Russian Diplomat: Georgia Rejects JCC Talks

Yuri Popov, the Russian chief negotiator over South Ossetia, said on July 11 that Georgia had refused to take part in talks in the frames of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC).

“In connection with the aggravated situation in the conflict zone, the Russian side proposed holding a session of JCC co-chairmen in Moscow in late July to discuss confidence building measures, as well as the deployment of a radar station in the conflict zone. All the sides agreed, except Georgia,” RIA Novosti and Itar-Tass news agencies quoted Popov as saying.

Tbilisi announced in early March that it would no longer participate in the Russian-dominated negotiating body. The JCC involves Tbilisi, Tskhinvali, Moscow and Russia’s North Ossetian Republic.

Tbilisi has instead proposed to replace the JCC with a new negotiating body based on a 2+2+2 formula. The North Ossetian side, according to this proposal, would be replaced by the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration, led by Dimitri Sanakoev, and the OSCE and EU would also be included.