Georgia Says Abkhaz, South Ossetian Deals 'Obsolete'

Georgia Says Abkhaz, South Ossetian Deals 'Obsolete'

October 6, 2006 -- Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli said today in a Western newspaper that agreements allowing Russian peacekeepers in Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are "obsolete."

In a column in the "International Herald Tribune," Noghaideli said Russian forces have made "systematic violations" of the agreements. He called for the deployment of international troops.

Noghaideli's comments come at a time of major tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi, triggered by Georgia's deportation of four Russian soldiers accused of spying. Russia has retaliated with a range of sweeping measures, including the severing of transport and postal links with Georgia.

The Russian authorities have also raided Georgian-owned businesses, cracked down on foreign market traders, many of whom are Georgian, and tightened immigration controls.

Georgian authorities on October 6 said that Russia had deported a planeload of Georgians accused of illegal immigration.

There are also media reports that the Russian police have asked schools to look for Georgian children whose parents might be illegal migrants. The reports have been confirmed by a Moscow Education Department official but denied by the Interior Ministry.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warned on October 5 that the Kremlin's campaign against Georgia has resulted in a wave of xenophobia in Russia, and said other countries should also be concerned at the impact of the crisis.

Saakashvili recently said Russian sanctions against Georgia would "hardly damage" the economy.

("International Herald Tribune," Reuters, Interfax, AFP)

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Georgia Says Abkhaz, South Ossetian Deals 'Obsolete'