The Kurta-based alternative authorities of South Ossetia have called for a Georgian-Ossetian conference to hammer out a peace settlement.

Vladimir Sanakoev, a spokeperson for the pro-Tbilisi, alternative government said that the conference would demonstrate both sides’ willingness to live in peace. The conference will apparently take place in Tbilisi.

The call for a peace conference comes quickly on the heels of Tbilisi’s recent proposal to establish a temporary administrative unit in the region. Sanakoev, in a statement issued on March 28, said the initiative was quite positive.

“We welcome the proposal by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on the development of a draft law to establish the territorial unit in South Ossetia," he said.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Tskhinvali have condemned Tbilisi’s plans.

“The authorities of the South Ossetian Republic are firmly committed not to allow the creation and functioning of “temporary” or “alternative” state structures on its territory. The activities [of these structures] are aimed at the further deterioration of Georgian-Ossetian relations and negate the constitution of the South Ossetian Republic,” the Foreign Ministry of the breakaway region said in a statement on March 28.

The authorities in Tskhinvali have also announced plans to hold an All-Ossetian Assembly in Tskhinvali sometime this year.