Tbilisi waiting for provocations from Russia

Tbilisi does not rule out more provocations from Russia especially after the appointment of Russian Vitali Churkin as the Chairman of the UN Security Council for a month.

Churkin has already met with the delegations of the UN member states and the new Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki Mun. Despite the expectations, Georgian officials say Russia's position is not usually shared in the UN and the Russian chairman can not create obstacles for Georgia.

'We are expecting attempts of provocations from Russia, because this is a state operating by aggressive, rough methods. Russia is trying to demonstrate its power by blackmailing and intimidation,' Mp Nika Rurua, who chairs the Defense and Security Committee of parliament, told Rustavi2.

Meanwhile the government of South Ossetia has made comments referring current crisis at the Trans-Caucasian highway to accuse Georgia's authority of discrediting the breakaway region's authority.

'At the trans-Caucasian highway the main goal of all provocative action were to discredit the South Ossetia and Russia before the world community, especially before upcoming session of Euro Parliament, where the Russian-Georgian contradictions will be discussed and where Russia is going to invite representatives from South Ossetia and Abkhazia', it is said in the statement released by the press and information committee of South Ossetia.

According to statement, 'the crisis [at the Trans-Caucasian highway] was artificial, and it was organized by the Georgian certain special services'.

Meanwhile truck drivers transporting tangerines, who have been blocking the Trans-Caucasian highway for several days, have unblocked the highway.

Reportedly, some drivers, most of whom are from Northern Ossetia, were at the border for 20 days; many drivers have developed health problems in the absence of water, food and medicines.

Last year Moscow banned imports of Georgian fruit and vegetables; the drivers were aware of the ban, but they attempted to bring their freight into Russia regardless.