TBILISI -- Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says a dispute about Georgia's administrative boundary with its separatist region of South Ossetia will be discussed at Russian-Georgian talks scheduled for June 5.
In his statement televised on May 30, Ivanishvili suggested a recent flare-up over the installation of a fence was "misunderstanding rather than policy," adding that "we have to be patient, everything will be clarified."
Ivanishvili added that there was no need "to go into hysteria" and said Georgia's breakaway territories "will be returned in several years."
"With regards to what is going on at the borders, namely moving the barbed wire, we have made statements on that at different levels," Ivanishvili said. "Quite strict statements were made by various bodies, the Foreign Ministry being one of them. I have a more moderate stance on this issue because I think that it is more about misunderstanding rather than the policy guided from the center, from the Kremlin, if you wish. That’s my suspicion, although I have no evidence. Let’s wait and see how things develop. The minimum that was needed to be done on the government side is being done, including the discussion and statements in the parliament."
Earlier this week, Russian troops detained a Georgian national near South Ossetia after Russian military units installed fences along the boundary.
Locals complain the fences were installed a few hundred meters deeper inside Georgian territory.
Moscow has had troops in Georgia's separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia since it recognized their independence following a brief war with Georgia in August 2008.
In his statement televised on May 30, Ivanishvili suggested a recent flare-up over the installation of a fence was "misunderstanding rather than policy," adding that "we have to be patient, everything will be clarified."
Ivanishvili added that there was no need "to go into hysteria" and said Georgia's breakaway territories "will be returned in several years."
ALSO SEE: Georgia Angry Over Russian Installation Of Fence Along South Ossetian Territory
"With regards to what is going on at the borders, namely moving the barbed wire, we have made statements on that at different levels," Ivanishvili said. "Quite strict statements were made by various bodies, the Foreign Ministry being one of them. I have a more moderate stance on this issue because I think that it is more about misunderstanding rather than the policy guided from the center, from the Kremlin, if you wish. That’s my suspicion, although I have no evidence. Let’s wait and see how things develop. The minimum that was needed to be done on the government side is being done, including the discussion and statements in the parliament."
Earlier this week, Russian troops detained a Georgian national near South Ossetia after Russian military units installed fences along the boundary.
Locals complain the fences were installed a few hundred meters deeper inside Georgian territory.
Moscow has had troops in Georgia's separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia since it recognized their independence following a brief war with Georgia in August 2008.
