Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, that “provocations” against Russian peacekeepers were “inadmissible.”
The Kremlin and the Georgian Foreign Ministry said that the phone conversation was held between the two presidents on June 18.
The conversation took place a day after Georgian law enforcement officers detained four Russian peacekeepers and confiscated 20 anti-tank missiles en route from Abkhazia to the peacekeepers’ base camp on the Georgian side of the Abkhaz administrative border. Although the four were subsequently released, the Georgian Interior Ministry said it would make no decision on the ammunition until it had completed an investigation.
“While discussing the situation in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone, President Medvedev described as inadmissible provocations against Russian peacekeepers, who are performing their duties in accordance with international commitments,” the Kremlin said in a press release. “President Saakashvili promised to clarify the situation.”
“The leaders of the two states expressed their belief in the need to maintain contact in order to resolve existing problems and to develop bilateral ties,” it added.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said that the Georgian president had, in his conversation with his Russian counterpart, called on the Russian side “to refrain from unilateral actions and to follow required procedures when transporting armaments.”
A few hours before the two presidents spoke, Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze said that there was “no legal ground” for returning the confiscated ammunition. “The Russian side failed to provide any official documents about them [the ammunition] and the Georgian side was not notified about their transportation,” she told journalists.
The Interior Ministry said in a separate statement on June 18 that in accordance with the 1994 Moscow agreement the Russian peacekeepers must notify the Georgian side about any movement or transportation of weapons or personnel they intend.