Eurasia Press & News
ASTANA (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Saturday to refrain from “stoking tensions” in Georgia’s breakaway regions.
Medvedev and Saakashvili attended celebrations for the 10-year anniversary of the world’s youngest capital, Astana, which was made the capital by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
“The president (Medvedev) drew Saakashvili’s attention to the need to refrain from stoking tensions in the region and also stressed the need to continue talks with all parties involved,” a Kremlin spokesman told reporters.
Georgian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Georgia’s rebel enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from central rule during wars in the 1990s and are regular flashpoints for tensions with Russia, which provides financial support and has peacekeepers in both.
Several heads of former Soviet states, as well as King Abdullah of Jordan and Turkish President Abdullah Gul took part in the festivities organized by Nazarbayev.
