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Saturday 20th of April 2024, 06:57 CET |
| Georgian-Russian talks continue |
January 24, 2003
RFE/RL Transcaucasia
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Written by Liz Fuller
Posted by HW on April 20, 2024
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Overcome tensions
Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdjanadze met in Moscow on 23 January with Russian State Duma Deputy Speakers Vladimir Lukin and Irina Khakamada and with Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Dmitrii Rogozin to discuss how to overcome the current tensions in Russian-Georgian relations, ITAR-TASS reported. Burdjanadze also met with Russian presidential administration head Aleksandr Voloshin.
Extension of mandate
Speaking to journalists after those meetings, Burdjanadze contrasted Russia's policy of intimidation toward Georgia with the U.S. policy of offering incentives. She again warned that it is unlikely Tbilisi will agree to extend the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the Abkhaz conflict zone unless Russia suspends the rail passenger service between Sochi and Sukhum and stops granting Russian citizenship to residents of Abkhazia.
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Georgian, Abkhazian military prepare
Meanwhile the Georgian Armed Forces General Staff has prepared a contingency plan to deploy Georgian troops "to maintain the status quo" in the Abkhaz conflict zone should the Russian peacekeeping contingent be withdrawn, Interfax and Caucasus Press quoted Deputy Defense Minister Gela Bezhuashvili as saying on 23 January. He did not divulge further details.
Abkhazia is ready
On 21 January, Abkhaz Deputy Defense Minister Garri Kupalba told journalists in Sukhum that Abkhazia is ready to deploy its servicemen at the control posts currently manned by the Russian peacekeepers should that force be withdrawn, Caucasus Press reported. |
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