Georgia Threatens To End Russian Peacekeeping Deal

11 October 2005 -- Georgia's parliament today threatened to end a peacekeeping deal with Russia in two Georgian breakaway regions if Moscow continues to support what Tbilisi says is a policy of encouraging separatists.
Russian peacekeepers have been in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the early 1990s when they helped end local conflicts and restore order.

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili told parliament that since then there were no signs Russia was taking any steps that would help solve the two conflicts.

Georgia's parliament unanimously passed a resolution calling on the government to set deadlines for progress in the two regions -- 10 February for South Ossetia and 1 July for Abkhazia. If there is no progress, parliament demanded the government seek the withdrawal of the Russian troops.

(Reuters/AP)

See also:

Georgia: Tensions Again On The Rise In South Ossetia

Can Moves Toward Abkhaz-Georgian Rapprochement Continue?