PARIS, Aug 17 (AFP) - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appealed for an international peacekeeping force to be sent to Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, where a four-day ceasefire was in danger of collapse following clashes in the pro-Russian territory, in comments published Tuesday.
"An international peacekeeping operation that is balanced and takes into consideration Georgia's Euro-Atlantic partners should be mandated in South Ossetia to provide security for the population ans ensure the conditions for political negotiations towards a lasting settlement," Saakashvili said in an article for the Wall Street Journal Europe.
He accused South Ossetian authorities and "certain elements in the Russian government" of "bringing the situation to the brink of a major armed conflict. Paramilitary groups and arms deliveries from Russia have played a major role in escalation of tensions," he said.
Saakashvili called on the United States, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to take an active role "in high level negotiations among the parties directly involved."
He said that as a result of recent actions of his government to halt smuggling, "the de facto leadership in this lawless region saw their income threatened and have resorted to violence."
He said they sought to provoke a confrontation that they hoped would undermine Georgia's credibility and standing in the international community -- a confrontation in which Georgian soldiers have died.