Giorgi Khaindrava was fired by President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier in the day. The president's office gave no reasons, but officials in South Ossetia said he had been replaced for opposing a military resolution of the conflict with the self-proclaimed republic.
Speaking to reporters after his removal, Khaindrava said: "Government reshuffles are a normal process; the important thing is that the government's course should remain the same. Personalities don't matter, and I am sure the government will not change its line toward a peaceful resolution of conflicts inside Georgia."
The ex-minister said "Georgia's stance is substantiated by the international law" and that it would eventually secure the withdrawal of all "foreign troops deployed illegally in South Ossetia and Abkhazia." He was apparently referring to the Russian peacekeeping contingent, whom Georgia has repeatedly accused of siding with the rebellious regions' authorities.
On Tuesday, the Georgian parliament passed a resolution calling for the Russian peacekeepers' withdrawal from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Saakashvili was expected to discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an informal CIS summit in Moscow this weekend, but he cancelled the trip for unspecified reasons.
