MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has refuted statements by partners in Geneva in regard to the stabilization of the situation in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zones, a Russian deputy minister said on Wednesday.
Grigory Karasin said the co-chairmen at the discussions in Geneva are convinced that the situation in the border zones between Georgia and the former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been stabilized. The Russian and South Ossetian delegations have refuted the statement.
"However, that is not the way it is...[Georgian] military drones have started flying over South Ossetia and Abkhazia," Karasin, who heads the Russian delegation, told RIA Novosti.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Wednesday it is prepared to look into drafting an agreement on non-aggression only if it is considered the victim of aggression.
"Georgia is prepared to look into drafting a non-aggression agreement, but only if the parties of that agreement will be Russia as the aggressor and Georgia as the victim of aggression," the ministry's statement reads, adding "20% of [Georgia's] territory is occupied today."
The head of the independent investigative commission on the August 2008 conflict, Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, presented a report in September with the findings of the commission to the heads of the delegations of Russia, Georgia, the EU, OSCE and the UN. The report indicated Tbilisi as starting the 5-day war with Russia over South Ossetia, calling Russia's military response "legal."
