Tbilisi accuses Moscow of ignoring deal on settling crisis in Caucasus

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The Georgian Foreign Ministry has accused Russia of ignoring an agreement on the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus.

In commenting on the situation in the village of Perevi, which was recently retaken by Russian troops, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that, in explaining its position, Russia is citing "some Sarkozy-Medvedev plan [a conflict settlement plan agreed by the Russian and French presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy], which is nothing but a figment of imagination of high-ranking Kremlin officials."

"What exists in reality is a six-point cease-fire agreement initiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the country currently holding the EU presidency," the statement says.

"Georgia has to say once again that Russia is continuing to demonstratively ignore this document," it said.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry made this statement in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry's Friday statement, in which it said that Russian troops had had to return to a checkpoint in Perevi to prevent provocations by Georgian special forces.

"To avoid the increase of tension and ensure compliance with the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, the Russian command decided to bring Russian troops back to the checkpoint," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

"The presence of Russian armed forces in Abkhazia and South Ossetia has received the approval of the governments of these independent states and has been requested by them, which fully conforms to standards and principles of international law and has additional justification from the point of view of threats that have arisen for these republics after Georgia's aggression in August," it said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia had earlier withdrawn its troops from Perevi in compliance with an agreement reached at a Russia-EU summit in Nice, France, but Georgia in response sent more than 120 special troops armed with heavy weapons to the area.

"The arrival of the Georgian special forces was accompanied by a PR propaganda campaign with foreign reporters being invited. This created a threat of a sharp destabilization on the South Ossetian-Georgian border," it said.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in commenting on this statement on Saturday that Moscow is "trying to mislead the international community."

"Despite its international obligations, Russia is stubbornly refusing to pull out its occupying forces, deploying its military units wherever it finds fit, blocking the work of international monitors and restricting the freedom of movement in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region," the Foreign Ministry said.

Tbilisi has called on the international community "to take efficient steps to ensure the implementation of the agreements that have been achieved, with priority given to guaranteeing Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

22.12.2008