On October 7 Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze met with Valery Yevnevich, Deputy Commander of the Russian Land Forces, and Maj.Gen. Murat Kulakhmetov, new commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Force deployed in the South Ossetian conflict area.
The Georgian Defense Minister said after the talks that the issues of safe movement of the population in the conflict area, as well as the security of byroads, connecting Georgian-controlled territories with Georgian villages in the conflict zone, were discussed during the talks.
Giorgi Baramidze urged the new chief of the peacekeeping troops to remain impartial. ?Everybody should remember that the peacekeeping operation is conducted on the territory of Georgia. This is a sovereign state,? Baramidze added.