South Ossetia's chief negotiator, Boris Chochiev, said his team would attend the 18-19 January meeting of the Joint Control Commission, to be held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, only if Georgia apologizes for a statement made in November in which Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili threatened to arrest the South Ossetian leadership.
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Georgia's Conflict Resolution Minister Giorgi Khaindrava accused the South Ossetians of seeking to drag out peace negotiations.
The Joint Control Commission includes Russia and its southern republic of North Ossetia as well as Georgia and South Ossetia.
South Ossetia wants the meeting to be held in the North Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz.
(Civil Georgia, Interfax)
RFE/RL Caucasus Report
RFE/RL Caucasus Report
SUBSCRIBE For weekly news and in-depth analysis on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia's North Caucasus by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Caucasus Report."
