Russia refuses to give nonaggression guarantees to Georgia

Russia will not give guarantees of non-use of force to Georgia, because Moscow does not threaten Tbilisi, said Grigory Karasin, State Secretary and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, at the 15th round of Geneva talks on security and stability in Transcaucasia, held in the evening on March 4.

Prior to the round of the talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia stated its intention to call Russia to undertake not to use force, similar to the promises made by President Saakashvili last November to the European Parliament. "By doing so, Russia could prove its peaceful intentions and absence of any plans to undertake a new aggression against her sovereign neighbour," runs the statement of the Georgian MFA.

"Russia was not and is not a party to the conflict; so, we'll not give any unilateral declarations of non-use of force, because it is not necessary. We did not and do not threaten anybody there. And the main task of the Geneva talks, as it was formulated in the decisions of Presidents of Russia and France, is the safety of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Grigory Karasin as saying.
According to Dmitry Sanakoev, a member of the Georgian delegation, during this round of talks the parties agreed to discuss during the next round - to be held on June 7 - the obligation not to use force in more detail.