Russia handed control of buffer zones adjacent to two Georgian breakaway republics, over to EU and OSCE monitoring missions in Georgia on October 8. The measures are part of international efforts to stabilize the region following Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia in August, which triggered a five-day conflict with Russia.
Tatyana Zhdanok said, following reports of gunfire from the Georgian side on Tskhinvali, that South Ossetia has no EU-manned checkpoints in South Ossetia.
South Ossetia's authorities confirmed that there had been a resumption in shooting on South Ossetia territory, as well as the abductions of local residents.
The EU mission is tasked with ensuring security along the border with Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who were recognized by Russia as independent states on August 26. Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have refused to allow EU observers on their territory.
The Russian and French presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy, agreed in September that Russia's full withdrawal from undisputed parts of Georgia must take place by October 10. EU monitoring teams were deployed in Georgia on October 1 in preparation for the handover.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s amid armed conflicts that claimed thousands of lives.
