The Novosti-Georgia agency reports that Georgy Khaindrava, the Georgian State Minister for Conflict Settlement, called actions of Georgian law enforcers who detained a motorcade of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia (self-proclaimed republic on Georgian territory) "absolutely legal."
"There was no preliminary agreement with the Georgian side about the movement of a military motorcade in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, as the Russian side alleges," Khaindrava said.
"Any assertions that the motorcade heading, allegedly with Tbilisi's permission, for a peacekeepers' HQ in Tskhinvali [South Ossetian capital] was detained by Georgian forces are a lie: the Georgian side was not informed about the motorcade movement," Khaindrava said.
An agreement on provision of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict with helicopters was adopted back in 1992. On July 10, 1996, the parties to the peacekeeping process - Georgia, Russia and North Ossetia - confirmed this decision.
"Anyway, Russian peacekeepers were to have informed the Georgian side of armaments movement in the conflict area," he noted.
At the same time, Georgian Interior Minister Irakly Okruashvili, who was personally in charge of the operation to detain the peacekeepers' motorcade, said at a session of the Georgian government on Wednesday that the cargo was imported in line with the permission given out by the Georgian side.
He said that the Georgian State Security Ministry started investigation, during which Georgian government members who were involved in giving out the permission to bring in weapons will be questioned.
