Kokoev Downplays Talks with Zhvania

South Ossetian de facto President Eduard Kokoev said after a meeting with the co-chairmen of the Joint Control Commission on August 8 that bilateral talks between him and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania ?is not a top priority.?

When asked regarding overnight shellings of Georgian villages in the conflict zone, Kokoev replied: ?Ask this question to [Irakli] Okruashvili [the Georgian Interior Minister],? hinting that the Georgian internal troops, stationed in the conflict zone, have been provoking the overnight clashes.

He also said that the South Ossetian side is open for dialogue in order to solve the crisis through peaceful means.