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#10 - JRL 2008-155 - JRL Home
Russia will not consult with Saakashvili on buffer zone parameters inconflict regions - Nogovitsyn

MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Russia will not hold consultations with the Georgian leadership on the parameters of the buffer zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"We'll not consult with Mr. Saakashvili on the buffer zone," Russian General Staff Deputy Head Anatoly Nogovitsyn told journalists in Moscow on Friday.

Nogovitsyn said that Russian peacekeepers were stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in compliance with international and bilateral agreements, and that Georgia, by launching its aggression against South Ossetia, unilaterally violated the agreements.

"By starting the aggression this president declared a unilateral violation of the existing agreements. Now he has neither the moral, nor the legal right to dictate terms. We do not see Georgian peacekeepers here," Nogovitsyn said, noting that the peacekeeping operation will be performed by Russia peacekeepers.

"Concerning the moods of this kind, they are on his conscience. He had ample opportunity to fulfill the peacekeeping mission. He himself gave it up," Nogovitsyn said in remarks about the Georgian president's statement that the buffer zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia were unacceptable for Tbilisi.