Georgian Parliament May Demand Russian Peacekeepers' Pullout

Nino Burdjanadze (file photo) 29 September 2005 -- Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze said today that lawmakers have drafted a motion that will require Russian peacekeepers to withdraw from Georgia's breakaway provinces if they fail to help achieve progress.

She said parliament will urge the Russian peacekeepers to withdraw from South Ossetia should they fail to help establish a peaceful settlement by February. The parliament will also require the peacekeepers' pullout from Abkhazia by July if they did not score progress in their mission.

Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in Georgia's provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia since the early 1990s following two wars with Tbilisi, resulting in de facto independence.

(AP/ITAR-TASS)

See also:

Georgia Detains Two Russian Peacekeepers In Abkhazia

Georgia: Tensions Again On The Rise In South Ossetia

Georgia: Can Moves Toward Abkhaz-Georgian Rapprochement Continue?