The state minister's office confirmed Giorgi Khaindrava's dismissal.
"The prime minister will inform the state minister (Khaindrava) today that he has been dismissed for his post and Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze, who oversees Russian-Georgian relations in the Foreign Ministry and is currently in Moscow, will replace him," officials said.
Khaindrava said his dismissal was unexpected.
He said his tough statements on a number of domestic issues, including the situation with refugees in Adjaria, a Georgian autonomy recently returned to the fold of Tbilisi, and the recent detention of a Russian diplomatic car on the Georgian-South Ossetian border could be among the reasons for his dismissal.
Khaindrava was responsible for the problems of refugees as a cochairman of the Joint Control Commission for the resolution of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict.
A car with Russian diplomats was stopped by Georgia's military police July 14 near the town of Gori, 25 km (about 16 miles) from Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, on its way from Tbilisi to Tskhinvali for a document check.
The incident was repeated the next day sparking a furious attack from Yury Popov, Russia's ambassador at large and co-chairman of the JCC. He labeled the incident a "gross two-day provocation designed to disrupt the peace process."
Commenting on his dismissal, Khaindrava said, "Our state is on the verge of provocation and, above all, decisions need to be made that will be beneficial for the state."
