MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister and the president of South Ossetia expressed their concern at talks Friday over Georgia's unwillingness to sign a document with its breakaway region to end military activities, the ministry said.

"The lack of positive dynamics in this issue could become a destabilizing factor for South Ossetia and the whole region, and lead to aggravated confrontation, including armed, in the conflict zone," the ministry said in a statement following Sergei Lavrov's meeting with Eduard Kokoity.

The sides expressed concern over Tbilisi's unwillingness to sign a document on the non-resumption of military activities with South Ossetia, confirmed their readiness to continue close cooperation through the Joint Control Commission (JCC), and called on their Georgian partners to renew joint work under the existing talks format.

The JCC, comprising Georgia, South Ossetia, Russia, and its Republic of North Ossetia, was formed to find a solution to the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia.

Lavrov had earlier welcomed Kokoity's peace initiatives voiced at a meeting of the Joint Control Commission on December 27, 2006.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared their independence from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, sparking bloody conflicts in the region. Russia mediated ceasefire agreements between the sides, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the conflict zones ever since.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who swept into power on the back of the 2003 "Rose" revolution, has vowed to bring the rebellious provinces back into the fold and accuses Russia of siding with the separatists.