TBILISI. June 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has denied agreeing that the mandate of the CIS peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone be extended for 10 years.
Information on such an agreement allegedly being reached at the St. Petersburg CIS summit has been published in a number of Georgian media outlets.
"The information on an agreement to extend the CIS peacekeeping mandate for 10 years is just a misunderstanding," Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on Monday.
Shevardnadze recalled that the Georgian and Russian presidents agreed in Sochi in March this year that the mandate be extended indefinitely until either side decides that the peacekeepers must be withdrawn.
"This means that Georgia can raise this issue in two days, or in five days, or in a week, and the Russian peacekeepers will be withdrawn immediately. But whether this would be appropriate is another question," he said.