Russian chief negotiator on South Ossetian conflict issues Yuri Popov said on May 16 that Moscow didn't recognise the head of Tbilisi-loyal S.Ossetian provisional administration, Dimitri Sanakoev, as a legitimate side in the conflict and had no plans to engage in talks with him.

Speaking after talks with Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Merab Antadze in Tbilisi, Popov said that Sanakoev “is the representative of the local authorities and the representative of the executive authorities of Georgia and therefore, he is not considered to be a party in the conflict.”

“I do not think it is possible to [engage in talks] with him at this stage,” Popov added.

The Russian diplomat left for Tskhinvali after the talks in Tbilisi.

“We will travel to Tskhinvali to hold talks with the South Ossetian authorities and our [Russian] peacekeepers there. We will try to find common points in the positions of the Georgian and South Ossetian sides and I hope that it will be possible to defuse tensions in the conflict zone,” Popov said.

Popov, who represents the Russians side in the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC) over South Ossetia, plans to meet Boris Chochiev, deputy prime minister of breakaway South Ossetia.