OSCE, Georgia mull situation in occupied territories
By Jamila Babayeva
The Georgian Interior Ministry's Information-Analytical Department Director, Gocha Ratiani and head of the ministry's administration Zurab Zubadalashvili met with the OSCE special representative and co-chair of the Geneva discussions, Angelo Gnadinger.
The sides discussed the issues of preserving peace and stability, as well as the creation of a safe environment for the local population in Georgia's conflict regions, the Georgian Interior Ministry reported.
Ratiani thanked the OSCE representatives for constructive mediation in such important formats as the Geneva international discussions and meetings of the group on incident prevention and response mechanisms.
Large scale military action was launched in South Ossetia on August 8, 2008. Later, Russian troops occupied Tskhinvali and expelled the Georgian military. Russia recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in late August. In response, Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow and announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.