President Saakashvili’s spokesperson said on December 15, that “trade-off” over release of detained persons was inadmissible for Tbilisi.

“The President believes that any trade-off with the occupying regime is inadmissible. Mikheil Saakashvili is grateful to European officials for their efforts and calls on them to keep away from trading of human beings, which is pushed for by the occupying regime,” Manana Manjgaladze, the Georgian President’s spokesperson, said.

Authorities in breakaway South Ossetia insist on, what they call, “all for all exchange” of detainees. Despite its commitment given to Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, earlier this month, Tskhinvali still holds two Georgian teenagers from the village of Tirdznisi in detention.

After series of talks in Tskhinvali and Tbilisi, CoE Human Rights Commissioner secured release of five Ossetians and two Georgian teenagers on December 2. Hammarberg avoided describing the reciprocal releases as a swap of detainees, “because I do not think we should be involved in trading of human beings; that is not right.” The term has been also avoided by the Georgian officials, who were reluctant to speak publicly about the release of five Ossetian men, who were held in the town of Gori.