Georgian Side Seeks Talks with South Ossetian Separatists

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said today that the Georgian authorities are demanding the launch of direct dialogues with the de facto authorities of South Ossetia, as well as top officials of Russia.

?We urge immediate talks with the South Ossetian separatists, as well as with top Russian officials, since Russia is actively involved in the recent developments in the conflict area. We also demand the complete demilitarization of the conflict area; that forsees the pullout of all extra troops from the South Ossetian conflict area that are not part of the designated peacekeeping force there,? Zurab Zhvania said at a news briefing on August 12.

He called on international organizations to actively participate in the conflict resolution and provide a top level meeting, that would include representatives from the Georgian, South Ossetian and Russian sides, within coming days or even hours.

Zhvania said later today that President Saakashvili will conduct a telephone conversation with representatives from the U.S. Government to acquaint them with the recent situation in the conflict area.