TSKHINVALI. July 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Commander of the mixed peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone Major General Vasily Prizemlin wants the mixed control commission on the conflict settlement to respond to disobedience of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion to his order.
"An appeal to convene the mixed control commission urgently to discuss this unpleasant fact was sent on Thursday to co- chairmen of the commission and the OSCE mission that also takes part in the conflict settlement," Prizemlin told Interfax- Military News Agency.
The Georgian peacekeeping battalion that forms part of the mixed peacekeeping forces together with a Russian and an Ossetian battalions, did not obey to Prizemlin's written order to take part in joint celebrations of the peacekeeping operation's 10th anniversary on July 14.
The mixed control commission comprises representatives of Georgia, Russia, Russia's internal republic of North Ossetia and Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.
"A political assessment of disobedience to the order of the commander of the peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone must be made immediately," Prizemlin said.
In accordance with the quadrilateral agreement, national defense ministries of the parties taking part in the peacekeeping operation have no right to control national military contingents bypassing the mixed control commission and commander of the mixed peacekeeping forces. However, the Georgian battalion's command was given the order to stay out of the celebrations directly from the country's Defense Ministry, the commander noted.
Co-chairman of the commission on behalf of Georgia Irakly Machavariani told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday that he would appeal to President Eduard Shevardnadze asking him to bring to justice officials of the Defense Ministry who had given the illegal order to the peacekeepers.
"If the guilty persons are not detected and punished, I will resign from the post of the co-chairman of the mixed peacekeeping commission," Machavariani said.