Two Georgian citizens illegally detained by Russian occupation forces released

Two Georgian citizens illegally detained by Russian occupation forces near the administrative line separating the central Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country were released on Friday, the State Security Service of Georgia said.

Kakhaber Natadze and Mamuka Chkhikvadze returned to their families “as a result of intense dialogue within the existing negotiation formats”, the Service noted, adding it had used the hotline designed for information exchange along the occupation line and “all mechanisms at the disposal” of the Government to ensure their release.

Their “immediate release” was “regularly discussed” in the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism format for meetings between Georgian officials and de facto authorities in the occupied region, with relevant information provided to the Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions on conflicts on the Georgian territory.