MOSCOW, February 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has proposed to hold a session of the commission on the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict resolution in Moscow instead of Vienna, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
A ministry spokesman said the proposal was made because of the unpredictable situation that had arisen following the Georgian parliament's resolution on the expulsion of Russian peacekeepers from the zone of the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway republic, South Ossetia.
"In this situation, the negotiators should be as close to the site of events as possible," he said.
He said Georgian State Minister for Separatist Conflicts Georgy Khaindrava had promised to inform the country's leadership about the proposal.
"The Georgian Coordination Council will discuss this proposal [Saturday] and will give an official answer after that," the spokesman said.
The Georgian parliament adopted a resolution Wednesday criticizing the work of Russian peacekeepers in the South Ossetian conflict zone and accusing Russia of attempting to annex the breakaway republic, which is home to a large population of Russian citizens.
The resolution called for the government to review the Sochi agreements of June 24, 1992 and to begin steps to replace the current peacekeeping contingent with an effective international one.
Khaindrava said Friday that Russia had refused to attend a session of the Joint Control Commission in Vienna on February 20-21.
"Unfortunately, I received the message that the Russian side is refusing to participate in the Joint Control Commission session in Vienna," he said.
He urged the sides not to dramatize the situation, adding that bilateral work on the issue would continue.
