Georgian Soldiers Released

Authorities in breakaway South Ossetia, on July 9, released a majority of the Georgian peacekeepers being held there; however, three Georgians still remain in detention in the region’s capital.

Controversy persists over the three Georgians who remain in a Tskhinvali jail. The South Ossetian side claims that the three Georgians were not among those 50 Georgian peacekeepers, which were disarmed and arrested on July 8 by the South Ossetian militias after raiding the Georgian village of Vanati in the breakaway region. Officials in Tskhinvali claim that the remaining prisoners are "criminals, not peacekeepers."

"We demand the immediate release of these three Georgians. Talks are being held with the South Ossetian side to foster this release," Georgian MP Givi Targamadze, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Defense and Security told reporters. He admitted that the three men were arrested by the South Ossetian side before the capture of the Georgian peacekeepers.

Upon there release, the soldiers were brought to the village of Variani in central Georgia. "They are being interrogated to find out the details of their detention," Givi Targamadze said.

Meanwhile, President Saakashvili, who retuned from Iran on July 9, held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and discussed the recent crisis in South Ossetia. No details of talks have been reported. He also met with Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and with a number of other power ministers to discuss the South Ossetian crisis.

President Saakashvili said on July 8, during his visit to Iran, that Georgian authorities have a plan of action on how to deal with the crisis. He added that Tbilisi will not yield to provocations aimed at goading Georgia into an armed conflict.

"We know how to deal with this problem. We have a plan of action. We should be principled in our actions," the President continued.

The current crisis in South Ossetia triggered a prompt international response that came on the very day that the Georgian peacekeepers were detained. Georgia should secure international support for its most recent standoff with its breakaway region, which further grew in intensity on July 8, after a shootout resulted in the wounding of three Georgian soldiers.

The United States has condemned this hostage-taking and has called on South Ossetian authorities to immediately release the detained Georgian peacekeepers, which were brought to Tskhinvali where they were shown on local television kneeling in the center square of the city.

"We understand the hostages were forcibly lined up and displayed on their knees before a large demonstration in the South Ossetian capital city [Tskhinvali]. We condemn the taking of hostages by South Ossetian forces, and think their treatment has been deplorable," Richard Boucher, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said at a news briefing in Washington D.C. on July 8.

He said that the U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell spoke with Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania to discuss the recent crisis in South Ossetia. He also plans to speak to his Russian counterpart, [Foreign] Minister [Sergei] Lavrov, today. He is trying to urge both sides to resolve this through dialogue," the spokesman of the U.S. Department of State said.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy also expressed his "grave concerns" in a statement issued on July 8 and called on the South Ossetian side for the immediate release of the Georgian citizens.

"I consider this to be an extremely dangerous step and I urge the South Ossetian authorities to release the detainees immediately," he said.

Hungarian parliamentarian Matyas Eorsi, who leads the visiting delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, also condemned the developments in South Ossetia and, at a news briefing in Tbilisi on July 8, called on Tskhinvali to exercise restraint.

However, Russia has kept its silence over the detention of the Georgian peacekeepers. Moscow is angry over a separate incident that took place in the early hours of July 7, when Georgian troops intercepted a Russian arms convoy and seized two trucks loaded with weapons, including hundreds unguided missiles. Russia condemned the move and explained that the arms were for Russian peacekeepers deployed in the conflict zone; however Tbilisi alleged that South Ossetian militia groups were supposed to receive these weapons.

The Georgian Interior Minister said on July 8 that the Georgian authorities are "taking all the necessary measures to free South Ossetia from de facto President Eduard Kokoev and his criminal clan."

"Kokoev will strongly regret the forcing of our detained soldiers to kneel. We will never forgive him for this. He will be held responsible for this," Okruashvili said. The Interior Minister was quick to add, however, that the Georgian authorities will do their utmost to avoid an armed confrontation.

In response, the South Ossetian de facto President accused Tbilisi of preparing for military hostilities in South Ossetia. "Georgia wants war. But we are ready for self-defense," Eduard Kokoev told reporters in Tskhinvali.

He also said that the Parliament of the unrecognized South Ossetian Republic passed a resolution on July 7 that envisaged the "enforcement of Russian laws in South Ossetia." Breakaway South Ossetia has often appealed Moscow to allow for it to ascend into the Russian Federation.