Saakashvili: No peace talks before Russian pull-out (3rd Roundup)

Oct 14, 2008, 18:28 GMT

Brussels - Georgia will not negotiate with politicians from its breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia at peace talks in Geneva as long as Russian troops occupy them, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Tuesday.

Russian negotiators for their part also warned Tuesday they would not show up unless the two regions, which Russia has recognized as independent nations, took part in the talks.

'We don't think these people are politicians, we think they are criminals from our point of view and the point of view of international criminal law,' Saakashvili said, when asked if Georgia would participate in Wednesday's peace talks in Geneva if politicians from the breakaway zones attended.

'We are not talking about separate entities of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, we're talking about territories which have been occupied illegally by the Russian Federation ... We will reach out, but first the Russians should get out of there,' he said in Brussels.

The comments threw into doubt peace talks scheduled to begin in Geneva on Wednesday between Georgia, Russia and the United States over the summer's Georgian-Russian war.

The talks were agreed as part of a six-point peace plan brokered by the French government, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency. They are to be co-chaired by the EU, UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

But the sides remain gravely at odds over key issues, with Russia saying that it wants the conference to agree to an arms embargo on Georgia, and Georgia insisting that Russia must pull out of the breakaway zones.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington that Russian troops have pulled out from key areas but there were still questions about some locations and the number of soldiers staying behind in the separatist regions.

US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried will represent the United States at the Geneva talks, he added.

The status of the two regions and their participation in talks is also a thorny issue. Russia recognized the separatists' independence on August 26 and says they must take part - a stance Georgia rejects.

Ahead of the talks EU diplomats said that they hoped to find a compromise formula whereby representatives of the two regions would be allowed to take part informally.

However, on Tuesday Saakashvili appeared to rule out that option, saying, 'We're more than happy to cooperate with any community, with any representative, but not in this kind of situation.'

The Geneva talks were set to be downgraded to a series of technical meetings as Georgia and Russia disagreed on who could participate.

Russian negotiators said they would not show up unless the two regions, which Russia has recognized as independent nations, had a seat at the table for the talks.

'Without them, we won't go to Geneva,' Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in a statement. But before boarding a plane to Geneva, the head of the Georgian delegation said: 'The Georgian side will not allow it.'

'Representatives from Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia will not take part in negotiations in Geneva,' Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying.

Moscow flew in the face of Western criticism and recognized the two regions as independent after routing a Georgian offensive to take back control over South Ossetia in August. Both have been self- governed since breaking from Tbilisi's rule in the early 1990s.

The disagreement means high-level negotiations to smooth out an EU-brokered ceasefire have devolved into 'technical meetings' at the expert level, as a UN spokesman put it.

While UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon was in Geneva Tuesday, neither he nor OSCE Chairman Alexander Stubb, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner or EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will join Russia and Georgia for discussions. They will hold a separate meeting excluding the two foes.

At the eleventh hour, and despite frosty relations between Moscow and Washington, US officials also announced they would be present at the talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, has said Moscow would push for an arms embargo on Georgia. It considers any discussions on the status of Georgia's breakaway provinces to be closed.

Nicaragua is the only state to have followed Russia's approval of South Ossetia and Abkhazia right to self-determination.