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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Russia-Georgia crossing to reopen | Russia-Georgia crossing to reopen |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Russia and Georgia have agreed to reopen a border crossing that has been closed since July 2006, Georgia's foreign ministry says. | Russia and Georgia have agreed to reopen a border crossing that has been closed since July 2006, Georgia's foreign ministry says. |
| The Kazbegi-Upper Lars crossing is likely to reopen next March, deputy foreign minister Nino Kalandadze said. | The Kazbegi-Upper Lars crossing is likely to reopen next March, deputy foreign minister Nino Kalandadze said. |
| It is the only crossing that does not go through the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. | It is the only crossing that does not go through the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. |
| Georgian forces were driven out of the two regions in a bitter war with Russia in August 2008. | Georgian forces were driven out of the two regions in a bitter war with Russia in August 2008. |
| The Russian government has confirmed the border agreement, saying that the checkpoint could "in theory" reopen from 1 March 2010. | The Russian government has confirmed the border agreement, saying that the checkpoint could "in theory" reopen from 1 March 2010. |
| But air links could only be re-established if the safety of Russian air crews could be guaranteed, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said. | But air links could only be re-established if the safety of Russian air crews could be guaranteed, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said. |
| Diplomatic relations had not been restored since the war, and that was the problem, he added. | Diplomatic relations had not been restored since the war, and that was the problem, he added. |
| The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says there has been virtually no contact between Moscow and Tbilisi since the war, so the news that they are to reopen their border is a significant move, especially for the many Georgian and Russian families separated by the conflict. | The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says there has been virtually no contact between Moscow and Tbilisi since the war, so the news that they are to reopen their border is a significant move, especially for the many Georgian and Russian families separated by the conflict. |
| But the hostility between the Russian and Georgian governments is unabated, our correspondent says. | But the hostility between the Russian and Georgian governments is unabated, our correspondent says. |
| Russia's Sergei Ivanov on Thursday accused Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili of behaving like the Afghan Taliban, after he ordered the demolition of a Soviet-era war memorial. |