"If it is impossible to fly the Georgian flag in the Tskhinvali region[Tbilisi's official name for the former autonomous republic] under the existing agreements that were signed by Eduard Shevardnadze," Mr. Saakashvili said in an address to the Supreme Council of the Adjar autonomous republic, "I am ready to withdraw from them and denounce these agreements."
Mr. Saakashvili added that Georgia did not intend to abolish its checkpoints or withdraw Interior Ministry troops from the Tskhinvali region.
"We will not withdraw our Interior Ministry troops from Georgian villages in the Tskhinvali region," he continued. "We still remember the consequences of such actions in Gagra and Sukhumi [during the Abkhaz war, Georgian soldiers became easy targets for Abkhaz military units when they withdrew from the towns]."
According to him, if Georgia withdraws its troops, the commander of the Russian peacekeepers in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone "will have nothing to do except for setting a border similar to that which exists along the Inguri River [on the border with Abkhazia]."
The president asserted that the Georgian secret services possessed documentary evidence that Russian military intelligence agents were operating in the Tskhinvali region.
"We have audio and video evidence as well as documents that Russian military intelligence agents are working in the Tskhinvali region," the president said. "More than that, we have evidence that Russian intelligence agents organized and conducted an operation to detain about 40 Georgian policemen. Moreover, Russian military intelligence organized having the Georgian policemen kneel in a Tskhinvali square.
"Georgian-Russian relations should be based on mutual respect. We welcome Russian investments into the Georgian economy. We are ready to closely cooperate with Russia in the fight against terrorism and interact in international organizations. But our friendship and our concessions end when Georgia's national interests and territorial integrity are concerned."
