Georgia Seeks Urgent International Conference over South Ossetia

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said at a news briefing on August 16 that President Saakashvili will appeal to the international community with the request to hold ?an urgent, special international conference? aimed at preserving peace in South Ossetia.

?Eduard Kokoev [de facto President of breakaway South Ossetia] tries to engage Georgia in a large-scale armed confrontation with the backing of certain forces in Russia. That is why Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili decided to appeal to the international community and hold a special international conference to find ways out of this situation,? Zurab Zhvania said.

He also said that the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, has already welcomed Georgia?s initiate.

The Georgian Prime Minister said that Tbilisi also wants the OSCE to hold an emergency session of the Permanent Council to discuss the situation in South Ossetia.

?Both an international conference and a session of the OSCE Permanent Council should be held during the coming days, as soon as possible,? Zurab Zhvania added.

The Georgian authorities? appeal to the international community to help in preventing a renewal of a large-scale armed conflict in South Ossetia follows an overnight shelling on August 16 which left two Georgian soldiers dead and one Georgian civilian wounded.