Speaking to journalists in Tbilisi on 31 January, Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili claimed that \"most\" of the states engaged in mediating a settlement of the Kosova conflict do not agree with the argument adduced during by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his televised press conference earlier that day. Putin argued that there is a need for \"universal principles\" to find a \"fair solution\" to \"frozen\" conflicts like the one in Kosova or those in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. \"If people believe that Kosovo can be granted full independence, why then should we deny it to Abkhazia and South Ossetia?\" he asked rhetorically. Bezhuashvili said that the Kosova settlement requires \"a very delicate, very cautious approach\" that cannot be applied universally to other conflicts. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli similarly argued that \"the Kosova solution cannot be applied to Georgia\" because solutions to the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts must preserve Georgia\'s territorial integrity. (Caucasus Press)