MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Georgia traded accusations Tuesday over an alleged blockade of checkpoints manned by Russian peacekeepers in the zone of Tbilisi's long-running conflict with breakaway South Ossetia.
The controversy erupted over the six-moth rotation of Russian peacekeepers in the northern Georgian region, as Russia said Georgian special forces and police units had infiltrated the conflict zone on May 27 in an attempt to interfere with the movement of Russian peacekeepers.
"Only thanks to the self-control of the Russian peacekeepers were the worst scenario and bloodshed avoided," spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Kamynin said, adding that Georgia was responsible for all actions that could lead to a deterioration of the situation in the conflict zone.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Georgian Ambassador to Russia Irakliy Chubinishvily and handed him a statement condemning Georgia for violation of existing agreements.
However, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Russia's accusations were unfounded and in turn claimed Russia had violated procedures for rotating its peacekeeping contingent, which has been stationed in South Ossetia since an end to fighting in the early 1990s after it tried to secede from Tbilisi.
"We believe that the incident was caused by [Russia's] failure to comply with the decisions adopted by the Joint Control Commission charged with resolving the conflict," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement also said that the rotation had not been coordinated with the Georgian co-chairman of the JCC - the body of Georgians, Ossetians and Russians attempting to regulate the situation - and that Russia was holding up talks on visas for its peacekeepers.
Georgia has warned Russia on numerous occasions against the conducting troop rotation through a checkpoint that is not under Georgian control. The Russian peacekeepers used to pass through the Nizhny Zaramag checkpoint at the Roksky tunnel on the border between unrecognized South Ossetia and the Russian republic of North Ossetia.
Georgia has insisted that Russian troops should cross the border through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint in the same area, which could be used officially along with airports in the capital, Tbilisi, and Batumi, and the Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi.
"The Russian side must provide Georgia with a list of rotated peacekeepers who would receive Georgian visas for the rotation period," Georgia's Foreign Ministry said May 24. "Then they will be able to reach the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone in Tskhinvali [South Ossetia's capital]."
The latest rotation was scheduled for May 23 but was then put off until May 29 following Georgia's demands over contentious border checkpoints and unresolved visa issues.
The Russian cochairman on the JCC, Yury Popov, said the commission would hold an extraordinary session June 2 to address the recent developments in the conflict zone.
But Giorgi Khaindrava, Georgian state minister for conflict resolution issues and Georgian cochairman of the commission said Georgia knew nothing of arrangements for the meeting.
"There will not be any session because no arrangements have been made," Khaindrava said. "And I don't know what Popov is talking about."
The commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the conflict zone said Tuesday evening that the all 500 Russian peacekeepers had arrived in Tskhinvali and the rotation would be completed in two to three days.
Marat Kulakhmetov said that there had been no incidents involving the peacekeepers as they traveled to the capital of the unrecognized republic. "The rotation is proceeding according to schedule," he said.
"The new contingent of Russian peacekeepers...will assume its duties in about two-three days," he said.
