Abkhazia's President Sergey Bagapsh, left, speaks with South Ossetia's President Eduard Kokoity, right.
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Georgia Promises South Ossetian Leaders Amnesty, Offers Negotiations
Georgian authorities have announced a “criminal amnesty” for leaders of the unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia, including its president, Eduard Kokoity, Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze said in a special statement on the military actions in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, RIA Novosti information agency reports. Besides the decision to forego prosecution of the South Ossetian leaders, the Georgian prime minister announced his country’s readiness to renew negotiations with the South Ossetian leadership and repeated Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s proposal to provide the South Ossetians broad autonomy.
Gurgenidze also urged calm in the country. “Today is a usual working day,” he said. “We are working as usual. In this situation, the main thing is to remain calm.” He said that the Georgian side promises not to endanger civilians and to allocate $35 million for the restoration of South Ossetia.
Gurgenidze also said that military action in the conflict zone would continue. The Georgian army will conduct military actions in South Ossetia “until peace is established there and the populace will have the opportunity to live calmly.” Shelling began in the conflict zone on August 7. On August 8, Georgian aviation and artillery began strikes on the unrecognized republic. Georgian media are reporting that the Georgian army has taken Tskhinvali, but that information has not yet been confirmed.
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