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Iosif Diskin: “The Yushchenko-Saakashvili meeting will result in the opposition's victory in the elections into Ukraine’s Supreme Rada” The co-chairman of the National Strategy Council Iosif Diskin comments to REGNUM Feb 22 on the situation over the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s statement that it is ready to keep peace in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone and over the forthcoming relevant meeting of Yushchenko and Saakashvili: “Thereby Saakashvili is trying to keep tensions high over the Georgian-Ossetian conflict — for his rating is very low and constant national mobilization against some foreign threat is the only way for him to keep his elite...

Ex-South Ossetian Economy Minister Gennady Kokoyev has given an interview to a REGNUM correspondent. REGNUM: Mr Kokoyev, today we are witness to deterioration in the Russian-Georgian relations. Georgia accused Russia of deliberate diversions at gas pipelines. How do you think, will it affect political relations of Georgia and South Ossetia, which is also left without gas today? Will South Ossetia become a part of gas and therefore a political crisis? It should be noted that Georgians have it in their blood, to start accusing either Russia or Ossetia in everything. We all do remember, how last year Ossetians were accused...

The Georgian party blocked the section of the Transcaucasus Road between the villages of Tamarasheni and Kekhvi (mostly populated by Georgians) in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, and stopped the traffic of vehicles with South Ossetian car-plates on the road between Tskhinvali and Tamarasheni. Thus, the South Ossetian capital turned out to be cut from major roads to Russia and Georgia. Only Zar by-pass road can be used, but it has recently been subjected to shelling. “Actions of the Georgian party are provoking and aimed at artificially deteriorating the situation in the conflict zone,” the Joint Peacekeeping Forces’ Headquarters...

MOSCOW, March 24 (RIA Novosti) - The old frictions between the Georgians and the South Ossetians detonated in the winter of 1989-1990 as a result of the nationalist policy of the then Tbilisi leadership. At the end of 1989, Georgian authorities sent Interior Ministry forces to Tskhinvali. The Ossetians then formed their National Guard, and military actions broke out. Uncontrolled militia groups also appeared. When Zviad Gamsakhurdia was in power in Georgia between 1990-1991, Tbilisi toughened its "Georgia for Georgians" policy and intensified attempts to solve "the Ossetian problem" militarily using heavy armaments. On December 9, 1990, the Supreme Soviet...

Summary Georgia has deployed more than 10,000 troops to the Tskhinvali region of South Ossetia. With dim prospects of North Ossetian aid reaching South Ossetia in time and Russia's unwillingness to interfere in Georgia's territorial battle, it is probable that Georgia is preparing to launch an attack and take advantage of this profitable situation to re-establish Tbilisi's control in South Ossetia once and for all. Additional intelligence of Chechen militants already stationed in South Ossetia implies the chances of sparking an armed conflict in the region are up. Analysis Interfax news agency reported the amassing of more than 10,000 Georgian...

Clashes have been reported between Georgian troops and separatist forces in the country's breakaway South Ossetia region. Georgian television reported intense shooting near the front line on Sunday. The territory has seen growing tension recently, with fears of a return to the civil war of the early 1990s. But earlier this month Russia, Georgia and South Ossetia agreed not to use force to try to end their simmering territorial conflict. Tensions were raised earlier this month when Georgian troops detained a convoy of Russian peacekeeping vehicles they claimed were smuggling arms to the region, while separatists held a group of...