Moscow Concerned over Georgian Parliament’s Resolution
The resolution calling for revision of the 1992 Sochi agreement and cessation of the Russian peacekeeping operation in the South Ossetian conflict zone, which was adopted by the Georgian Parliament on February 15, triggered concerns in Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The statement reads that the resolution is in line with an “anti-Russian campaign” which rotationally can trigger an escalation of tensions in the conflict zone.
“The decision by the Georgian lawmakers clearly indicates that Georgia might take a path in the direction of destabilization in the entire region. The only hope is that the Georgian executive authorities will show meticulousness,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
“We think it is necessary once again to confirm that the Russian side will continue to act in accordance with its international obligations and also with its own responsibility to maintain stability and security in the region,” the statement continues.
“We are still sure that all the problems and concerns of the parties involved in the conflict should be discussed and solved in frames of existing negotiating formats. This kind of effective mechanism in regards to the South Ossetian conflict zone is the Joint Control Commission [JCC]. We call for a prompt meeting of the co-chairman of the JCC to agree on a joint program of actions on resolution of the conflict. The Georgian President [Mikheil] Saakashvili’s proposals voiced at the UN 59th General Assembly Session [in 2004] and initiatives of [South Ossetian leader Eduard] Kokoity [voiced in December, 2005] can serve as a basis for this [joint program of actions],” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that so the called “the OSCE-approved peace plan” does not exist.
This statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry will most likely trigger protest by Tbilisi, which claims that the OSCE Ministerial Council unanimously supported Tbilisi’s peaceful plan over resolution of the South Ossetian conflict last December, at a summit in Ljubljana.
