Archive - 4/2013

Comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in connection with the speech of Prime Minister of Georgia made at the spring session of PACE

April 23, 2013, Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili made a speech at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and voiced the main trends and challenges in the foreign policy of Georgia. In particular, he said that "it is obvious to all, that 20 per cent of the country were occupied by Russia in 2008."

"There is nothing surprising or unexpected that Mikhail Saakashvili expressed his dissatisfaction with the speech by Bidzina Ivanishvili at the PACE session - on the contrary, it was expected, " said the South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev in his interview with IA "Res," commenting on the dissatisfaction of the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili with the speech of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on Tuesday at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

"There is nothing surprising or unexpected that Mikhail Saakashvili expressed his dissatisfaction with the speech by Bidzina Ivanishvili at the PACE session - on the contrary, it was expected, " said the South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev in his interview with IA "Res," commenting on the dissatisfaction of the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili with the speech of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on Tuesday at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The question of ratifying the Agreement between the governments of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation "On the international motor traffic" was discussed at today's meeting of the Committee for Foreign Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations of the Parliament of South Ossetia, chaired by the Committee Chairman Yuri Dzitstsoity.

All works on fixation of the line of demarcation of the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia are carried out in full accordance with the legislation of the Republic of South Ossetia. This was reported to IA "Res" by the South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement, Chairman of the Government Committee of South Ossetia on delimitation and demarcation of the state border Murat Dzhioev.

Prosecutor General`s Office of South Ossetia began criminal proceedings on charges of killings and disappearances of the citizens of the Republic in 2008.
As Attorney General of South Ossetia Merab Chigoev said IA "Res," during the last week, prosecutors had investigated materials and criminal cases of the Georgia's attack on South Ossetia in August 2008, as well as those crimes committed by the armed forces of Georgia.

To simplify the procedure of customs clearance of commercial goods transported through the Russian-South Ossetian border checkpoint near the "Lower Zaramag" (North Ossetia) it is planned to open an office of special customs representatives (brokers).

During the meetings of participants of Mechanisms on Prevention and Reaction to Incidents (MPRI) the South Ossetian delegation has repeatedly emphasized the need to release from the Georgian prisons all citizens of South Ossetia languishing in Georgian prisons, including three citizens of South Ossetia - Georgy Zasseev, Joseph Kochiev and Georgy Valiev, sentenced to life imprisonment. This was said by the RSO Deputy Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Khokh Gagloyty at the briefing in Tskhinval. He has noted that the South Ossetian authorities are concerned about the fate and health of these citizens who have joined the indefinite hunger strike April 15, in Gldani prison in Tbilisi (Georgia).

The Ossetian athlete, the world champion Rustam Chsiev will perform at the U.S. national championship in grappling, which will be held in June, 2013 in the U.S. city of Moristaun. According to the fighter, he will be performing in the open weight category.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) should be interested in the invitation of representatives of the countries where human rights are violated, to its sessions, particularly, representatives of South Ossetia affected by the 2008 war, unleashed by Georgia. This was said IA "Res" by the Vice-Speaker of the South Ossetian Parliament Yuri Dzitstsoity, commenting on the statement of the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Pushkov, that Russia in the spring session of PACE would raise the issue of admission of representatives of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria to the PACE sessions after the example of Kosovo.
Dzitstsoity stressed that South Ossetia had repeatedly raised the question of their participation in the meetings of the PACE.