Ossetian Reports: South Ossetian Speaker, Georgian PM Held Talks

Chairman of the breakaway South Ossetian Parliament Znaur Gasiyev held a phone conversation with Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania twice on January 22 to discuss hostage-taking crisis in the South Ossetian conflict zone, Press and Information Committee of South Ossetian reported. Spokesman of the Georgian Prime Minister also confirmed this report.

But, the Georgian officials? verification of this report is yet unavailable. 

Deputy Special Affairs Minister of breakaway South Ossetia Makhar Gasiyev was abducted together with several other Ossetian civilians in the South Ossetian conflict zone by a group of unknown persons on January 22. The recent incident added fuel to tensions, which have flared-up after the South Ossetian side detained two Georgian policemen in the conflict zone on January 20.

?Currently situation in the conflict zone is very strained,? Georgian MP Guram Vakhtangashvili, who is elected in South Ossetia?s Georgian-populated Didi Liakhvi constituency, told Civil Georgia.

Vakhtangashvili confirmed that South Ossetian official and several other Ossetians were abducted by the relatives and co-villagers of Georgian policeman Lado Chalauri, who is still detained by the South Ossetian side.

Chalauri was detained by the South Ossetian side on January 20 together with another Georgian policeman Gocha Gvimradze. As a result of talks between the Georgian and South Ossetian sides, only Gocha Gvimradze was released on January 20.

South Ossetian side agrees to release Chalauri only in case the Georgian side hands over Oleg Pukhaev, an Ossetian who was arrested by the Georgian police on January 19. He is accused of killing two persons last February. But the Georgian officials rejected, as they put it, ?to exchange policeman into a criminal.?