"A Georgian national illegally detained by Russian occupation forces near the occupied village of Dirbi in the Kareli municipality in central Georgia was released on September 30," - the State Security Service of Georgia said.

The Service said it had used the hotline designed for information exchange along the occupation line and “all relevant mechanisms at the disposal” of the Government to ensure release of Vladimer Tsabadze.

His immediate release had also been discussed at meetings of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism and the Geneva International Discussions, the two platforms used for talks between Georgian agencies and de facto authorities in the occupied regions.

The state body also said the Government and its international partners continued “active work” to release all Georgian citizens illegally detained in the occupied territories.