Georgian parliament's speaker favours settlement of pankisi Gorge situation

Georgian parliament's speaker Nino Burdjanadze believes that attempts to conceal the actual developments in the Pankisi Gorge have been a mistake.

Nino Burdjanadze made a statement to this effect on Friday during her meeting with journalists. Georgia's authorities had previously denied the fact that the Pankisi Gorge harboured illegal militants from neighbouring Chechnya.

Currently, the Pankisi Gorge located near the Chechen section of the Russian-Georgian border is hosting a lot of migrants from Chechnya, including many illegal militants.

Nino Burdjanadze spoke in favour of settling the Pankisi Gorge problem as soon as possible. "Serious efforts must be taken to ease tension in this area", she said.

At the same time, the speaker of Georgia's parliament believes that the Georgian authorities cannot go as far as conducting a military operation in the Pankisi Gorge". "Our law-enforcement agencies, however, must do everything in their power to resolve the Pankisi problem", Nino Burdjanadze said.