Tbilisi's use of force puts to boiling point Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone

The forcible action by Tbilisi against Russian peacekeepers takes the settlement of the South Ossetian problem outside the legal field, Andrei Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma committee for CIS affairs and contacts with compatriots, said in the RIA Novosti interview.

"In the eyes of many Russian parliamentarians, Tbilisi's forcible action against Russian peacekeepers puts to doubt everything that has been reached in recent time in Russian-Georgian relations", he said. "It is not to be neglected that, brazenly violating the existing agreements, Tbilisi is taking the settlement of the South Ossetian problem outside the legal field", Kokoshin stressed.

"The Georgian officials behind this action play with fire, lead to the grave worsening of the situation", he noted.

"Noteworthily, the action has taken place just after the Istanbul NATO summit, in which the Georgian leadership took part. Is it a coincidence or an outcome of the Istanbul contacts? In case of the former, the Russian side is in a position to expect condemnation of Tbilisi's recent actions in South Ossetia", Kokoshin said.

"Following the detainment of the Russian peacekeepers' convoy, the situation in South Ossetia has become heated and many openly say they are going to evacuate children and old folk", Azamat Khadikov, chairman of the North Ossetian parliamentary budget committee, told RIA Novosti in the interview.

At the same time, "South Ossetians are not going to succumb to rude pressure from Tbilisi and view the developments as an attempt to intimidate them", Khadikov said.

"South Ossetians pray for the politicians to be wise enough to avoid another bloodshed", Khadikov went on to say. On Thursday he returned from Tskhinvali, where he stayed with the North Ossetian parliamentary delegation to provide organisational help to the parliament, elected a month ago, of the unrecognised republic of South Ossetia.