Saakashvili: South Ossetia will be Reintegrated Gradually
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| Saakashvili called on Putin “to restrain certain forces in Russia” |
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who set up a special center to coordinate his government’s efforts to overcome the crisis in South Ossetia, said on July 11 that "certain forces in Russia are preparing aggressive actions against Georgia" and called on Russian President Putin "to restrain these forces."
The Georgian President warned Russia that in the event that a large-scale armed conflict erupts in breakaway South Ossetia, "it will not be an internal [Georgian] conflict; it will be a serious problem between the two countries – Georgia and Russia."
"The current crisis in South Ossetia is not a problem between Georgians Ossetians. This is a problem between Georgia and Russia," President Saakashvili said on July 11 while meeting with the group of ethnic Ossetians who were gathered outside the President’s Administration office in Tbilisi expressing their support for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
President Saakashvili also said that last night was relatively stable in the conflict zone. "However, several Russian aircrafts violated Georgia’s airspace today [July 11,]" Saakashvili added.
Reports say that shots, fired near the Georgian village of Tamarasheni, were heard overnight on July 11; however no casualties were reported. A total of seven Georgian servicemen have been wounded as a result of sporadic shootouts in the conflict zone since July 8.
President Saakashvili once again denounced statements adopted by the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, in which the Russian parliamentarians condemn the activities of the Georgian authorities and accuse Tbilisi of "destabilization of the situation in South Ossetia."
"This is a provocative statement. Unfortunately this statement was proposed by those Russian parliamentarians who have close links with Kremlin," the Georgian President said.
President Saakashvili told reporters that he spoke with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov by phone on July 10. "We are in frequent contact with our colleagues in Russia in our attempts to defuse tensions in South Ossetia. We also have frequent talks with the United States," Mikheil Saakashvili added.
The Georgian Secretary of the National Security Council, Gela Bezhuashvili left for Moscow on July 11, while the Russian Foreign Ministry dispatched its Ambassador for Special Affairs, Lev Mironov, to Tbilisi on July 10.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the situation in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia on July 10, Itar-Tass news agency reported. This is the second phone conversation between Powell and Lavrov. The South Ossetian crisis was discussed during phone talks that occurred on July 8 as well.
Meanwhile, a special center, which will be headquartered in the Georgian village of Eredvi in breakaway South Ossetia, was set up by the Georgian authorities on July 10. Mikheil Saakashvili said the aim of special center "will be to avoid Georgia’s engagement in an armed conflict, which is so vigorously provoked by the South Ossetian side and certain forces in Russia."
Georgian Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili, who was instructed by the President to chair the center, is already in the village of Eredvi.
President Saakashvili also told reporters on July 11 that the main goal of the Georgian authorities is to defuse current tensions in South Ossetia. "We are not in a hurry; South Ossetia will be reintegrated back into Georgia within a year, maximum, without any shots being fired. But now it is vital to avoid an armed confrontation," he added.