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20 August 2004

U.S. Welcomes Georgian Troop Withdrawal in South Ossetia

Urges settlement preserving South Ossetian autonomy within Georgia

The United States welcomed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's decision to pull his country's non-peacekeeping troops from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli called on the parties to take steps towards negotiation of a "political settlement that preserves South Ossetian autonomy within Georgia."

Following is a State Department statement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
August 20, 2004

Statement by Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

WELCOMING GEORGIAN TROOP WITHDRAWAL

The United States welcomes President Saakashvili's decision to pull Georgia's non-peacekeeping troops from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. We urge all parties to act with restraint as the withdrawal proceeds.

Georgia's ability to carry out its ambitious reform agenda depends on having peace and stability. We call on the parties to the conflict and other OSCE partners to capitalize on this positive momentum created by this troop withdrawal to establish an effective negotiating mechanism in pursuit of a political settlement that preserves South Ossetian autonomy within Georgia.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)