TBILISI. Aug 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili called for the resumption of negotiations with Russia on the return of Chechen refugees who are numbering over 3,800 people Georgia.
The majority of those refugees is located in the Pankisi gorge.
"The Georgian position on the voluntarily return of refugees faced no changes," Menagarishvili told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday. At the same time he stressed that "Georgia is not going to use force to deport them."
Menagarishvili said that the Georgian party is waiting for the arrival of a Russian interdepartmental group established for the solution of the problem with Chechen refugees return under the auspices of the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
The first visit of the group led by Deputy Emergencies Minister Yuri Brazhnikov took place in February this year. According to Menagarishvili, "a serious talk" on the problem happened during the recent visit of Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo to Tbilisi.
Responding to a question about the possible relocation of the refugees to third countries Menagarishvili said that Georgia has nothing against it if such agreement is reached with the refugees and a country that is to be ready to accept them.