Deputy chairman of the breakaway South Ossetian government and chief negotiator Boris Chochiev said that South Ossetian negotiators will visit Tbilisi only after Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili apologizes for his statements made against the South Ossetian officials, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported on January 15.

Tskhinvali has rejected the Georgian side’s proposal to hold a session of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission in Tbilisi, citing security concerns. The South Ossetian side wants the session to be held in Russia’s North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz.

According to the South Ossetian authorities, their concerns are triggered by statements made by Interior Minister Merabishvili during an interview with Rustavi 2 television last November wherein he threatened unrecognized republic’s leadership.

“Merabishvili should apologize; until then, no South Ossetian negotiator will visit Tbilisi,” Boris Chochiev said.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said on January 13 that the South Ossetian side’s refusal to arrive in Tbilisi for talks is an attempt to drag-out the peace process.