Fresh Fighting Shatters Short-Lived Ceasefire Deal

JCC will meet South Ossetian leader Kokoev on August 18 in Tskhinvali.

Renewed clashes in South Ossetia, which resulted in the death of three Georgian soldiers (initially death of two Georgians were reported), erupted late on August 17 just hours after the South Ossetian and Georgian officials agreed on a ceasefire. As a result, Tbilisi has announced that it will not pull out its extra troops from the conflict zone as was agreed earlier on August 17 during the talks in Tbilisi.

Georgian officials say a total of nine Georgian servicemen were killed in overnight shootouts during the past week in the conflict zone. However, the Interior Ministry refuses to reveal the names of the soldiers killed in action.

The village of Eredvi, near the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, again became the main target for South Ossetian militias. No casualties among civilians have been reported.

The South Ossetian side has blamed Georgian troops for opening fire. Interfax news agency quoted Ibragim Gasiyev, South Ossetian de facto Deputy Defense Minister, as saying that Georgian artillery was fired towards the Ossetian villages of Sarabuk and Prisi.

Fresh fighting in the conflict zone, which included the use of artillery, triggered overnight emergency consultations between President Saakashvili and various top ministers. After the meeting with the President, Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze said “we will not pull out our troops after what has happened.”

A handshake ceasefire agreement, which also envisages demilitarization of the conflict zone, was reached during talks between the co-chairmen of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC), involving the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and North Ossetian sides, with the Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania on August 17 in Tbilisi.

This was the second ceasefire agreement in a week. The first one was signed on August 13. However, both of these agreements turned out to be short-lived.

The co-chairmen of the JCC plan to hold talks with de facto South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoev on August 18. The Georgian side insists on direct talks between Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and Eduard Kokoev to discuss the political status of South Ossetia.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the situation in South Ossetian during phone conversations with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on August 17.

“We’re both [the United States, Russia], as you know, working with the parties to promote dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the issue, issues in South Ossetia,” Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman of the Department of State said at a news briefing in Washington on August 17.

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili will address a special session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on August 18 regarding the situation in South Ossetia.

Prior to her departure to Vienna on August 17, Salome Zourabichvili met with many foreign Ambassadors accredited in Georgia and delivered President Saakashvili’s message to the world leaders urging assistance in finding a peaceful solution of the South Ossetian conflict. Georgian authorities did not reveal the details of the appeal.

Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vladimir Chkhikvishvili was not invited to the meeting. It’s expected that the Georgian President will send a separate message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.