MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax-AVN) - An inter-departmental delegation put together by the Russian Emergencies Ministry and headed by Deputy Emergencies Minister Yuri Brazhnikov flew to Tbilisi on Thursday morning.
The delegation members "will hold extensive consultations on the entire range of issues concerning the problem of returning Chechen refugees to their homes from the Pankisi Gorge," the Emergencies Ministry press service told Interfax on Wednesday evening.
The parties at the consultations will consider Georgia's presenting a list of Russian citizens in the Pankisi Gorge.
In addition to Emergencies Ministry personnel, the Russian delegation includes officials from the Foreign, Interior, and Health Ministries, the Federal Border Guard Service and other Russian agencies.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu told the press earlier that about 6,000 to 7,000 refugees could be given the opportunity to return home. "We do not have any official information, but the Georgian side estimates the number of refugees at about 6,000 to 7,000," the minister said.