President of the Republic of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity received Zurab Nogaideli, the leader of the Georgian political party "Just Georgia". The meeting focused on the release of South Ossetians detained in Georgia and vise versa. As noted by Eduard Kokoity, "in accordance with the agreements reached with the CoE Human Rights Commissioner Tomas Hammarberg, the South Ossetian side is ready to release one more Georgian citizens as a sign of good will."
Eduard Kokoity emphasized that "the process of building good relations between Georgian and Ossetia is irreversible, as well as the process of South Ossetia's recognition by other states and UN members."
Zurab Nogaideli expressed his gratitude to Eduard Kokoity and stated that he would work on the release of South Ossetian citizens from Georgian prisons in the near future. "I will work on the release of South Ossetian citizens detained by the Georgian side upon my return to Tbilisi, and I will do my best to make sure that these persons spend the New Year with their families. This is what I had promised to the detainees' parents", noted Nogairdeli.
After the meeting, Zurab Nogaideli was meeting with the parents of the South Ossetian citizens detained in Georgian prisons. The relatives of the abducted and detained South Ossetians in Georgia stressed their readiness to organize protest rallies, if the Ossetian side would once again unilaterally release Georgian citizens. The Georgian side insisted on the release of Georgian citizens Levan Khmiadashvili abd Victor Buchukuri, who together with two other teenagers (Romelashvili and Tsabadze) were detained while possessing explosives on 4 November 2009 on the territory of South Ossetia. In the meantime, the Georgian side is illegally keeping in detention 40 South Ossetian citizens, including underage persons.
