Georgian State Minister Visits Tskhinvali

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Goga Khaindrava will hold talks with the authorities of breakaway South Ossetian in Tskhinvali on July 19.

Goga Khaindrava told Rustavi 2 television before the talks that the Georgian side will push for the release of three Georgian peacekeepers that have been detained in South Ossetia since July 8.

Around 50 Georgian peacekeepers were disarmed and detained by South Ossetian militia groups in the Georgian village of Vanati in the breakaway region. Most of them were released after only a day, however three Georgian peacekeepers still remain in the custody of the de facto South Ossetian authorities.

The South Ossetian side offered Tbilisi an exchange: the three Georgians for Marek Dudaev, the South Ossetian warlord who was captured by Georgian security forces in March in the breakaway region.

?We are not going to exchange our soldiers. We want them to be released without any conditions. Unfortunately, their release has been delayed,? Goga Khaindrava said.