In Georgia, Russian soldier awarded the status of asylum-seeker

On July 6, Dmitri Artemyev, a soldier of the Russian Army, who deserted to Georgia from South Ossetia, was granted a status of a political asylum-seeker. According to Alexander Nalbandov, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Georgia, his refugee status will be decided in a couple of months.

"Artemyev was given the status of an asylum-seeker, not a refugee. Within 3-4 months, the Ministry on Refugees' Matters and Accommodation should make the final decision about the above status," the "News-Georgia" quotes Mr Nalbandov as saying.

The deputy minister has emphasized that Georgia is observing all the international rules covering such cases. According to Mr Nalbandov, Artemyev has already met representatives of the embassy of Switzerland, which, under Georgian-Russian broken diplomatic relations, represents Russia's interests in Georgia.

He has also added that "the Georgian party will do the utmost to have the rights of soldier Artemyev, who ran away from the Russian Army duly protected," the "Gazeta.Ru" writes.

Shota Khizanishvili, head of the administration of Georgia's MIA, has reported today that Artemyev's could not persuade her son to return to Russia, as reported by the "Interfax".