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The Ministry of Defence of South Ossetia, as the public authority, will keep its powers and the relevant units after the signing of an additional agreement under the Treaty of Alliance and Integration between Russia and South Ossetia - said during a press conference in Tskhinval South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov, summing up his meeting with Russian President - Vladimir Putin, held in Moscow on 31 March.

According to the President, in late February the South Ossetian working group, headed by the Secretary of Security Council of the Republic Anatoly Pliev, was actively working with the Ministry of Defense of Russia on the preparation of the additional agreement to the Treaty of Alliance and Integration between the two countries relating to the transfer of certain units of the Defense Ministry of South Ossetia to the Russian Armed forces.

"The parties agreed that the Treaty, which provides for the transfer of individual units of the Defense Ministry of South Ossetia to the Russian Armed forces, does not meet the requirements of the existing Russian legislation,, - the president said. - And we`ve come to the conclusion that the additional agreement should stipulate not the transfer, but the admission of our servicemen in the Armed Forces of Russia. Most importantly, we have ensured that a serviceman, who serves in the Defense Ministry divisions of our Republic, will be considered for transfer to the Armed forces of Russia. But if he somehow cannot meet the requirements, he will just continue to serve in a former place. "

The work on the additional agreements to the Treaty of Alliance and Integration between Russia and South Ossetia has been positively assessed by the two presidents - said during the press conference in Tskhinval South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov, commenting on the results of the meeting of the presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia, held in Moscow on March 31.

"If there were some difficulties in the definition of the additional agreements, Russia considered that the decisions should be taken by the two sides, - Tibilov said. - All the additional agreements to the Treaty of Alliance and Integration, which have already been signed or will be signed in the near future, are in working order. We must only wait for a certain time and feel the usefulness of these additional agreements and, in general, of the Treaty. "

Tibilov has noted that there were different approaches to the signing of the additional agreements in the South Ossetian society, stressing that the work on the additional agreements was positively assessed by the two presidents.

Relations between Russia and South Ossetia reached a high-quality level, - said during a press conference in Tskhinval South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov, commenting on the results of the meeting of the presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia, held in Moscow on 31 March.

"Summit is an indicator of relations between states - Tibilov said. - In this case, we can say that our relations have reached a high- quality level. We are proud of these relations, and, of course, they must be strengthened and developed. "

According to Tibilov, the meeting with the President of Russia was held in a rather warm, friendly atmosphere of mutual understanding.

"It is very important that the head of the Russian state knows very well the issues of South Ossetia, he is always ready to solve our problems, - said the President. - I am happy that the Russian President once again has stated that the Russian Federation has provided and will be providing the assistance to South Ossetia. As we know, Russia has serious financial difficulties, when many countries around the world have imposed various sanctions. But at the same time, Russia follows the obligations assumed by it in due time. "

Tibilov has noted that the level of bilateral cooperation between the two states increases each time.

" I `ve received a positive reply to the questions, identified by me in the course of the meeting with the Russian President in terms of the development of our relations, the development of the Republic ", - concluded the President.

In the capital of Italy took place the ceremony of opening the office of the official representative of South Ossetia in Italy.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Kochiev thanked the representative of South Ossetia in Italy Mr Mauro Murgia for assistance in opening the representative office and wished the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Italy new successes and achievements.

"I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you for your attention and support. Taking this pleasant opportunity, I address greetings to our compatriots in Italy, which, in spite of the distance, keep in touch with the homeland, and strive to contribute to strengthening of the Italian-Ossetian friendship - said Kochiev. ¬ I would like to note that Mr. Mauro Murgia is not for the first year the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy, and with his active participation expand contacts between our two countries, were signed the agreements on friendship and cooperation between the capital of our Republic- the city of Tskhinval and a number of Italian cities."

On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister thanked Mr. Murgia for his work.

"I also express mygratitude to all who contributed to the opening of the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy, first of all, - Mr. Andrea Corsini, who has kindly provided us accommodation for the office, - continued Kochiev. - South Ossetia is an open country that tends to increase the number of international relations. I`d like to note with pleasure that South Ossetia has already enough friends in Italy, and we hope that with the opening of the representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia, the number of friends of our country will increase. "

Kochiev also spoke about the presence of a wide field of networking and cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, in the field of culture.

"We will be seeking for the opportunities for business contacts ", he said

"I would like to express confidence that the opening of the representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy expands opportunities to work in all these areas - said the Deputy Minister. - For our compatriots in Italy, our representative office should be a place where they can find support and assistance. "

According to Kochiev, the opening of the representation office of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy is a joyful and important occasion.

"In South Ossetia are happy that, despite some difficulties, the opening of the office has taken place", - concluded the Deputy Minister.

In the course of the meeting with the Chairman of "Gazprom" Alexey Miller were discussed the issues of Russian natural gas supplies to the Republic, said the president of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov during the live broadcast on Russia 24 channel.

"The meeting was held in a warm, friendly atmosphere with the plans for future cooperation, we have achieved understanding, - said the President. - In 2009, was gasified the capital of the Republic and several nearby villages, but now we will work on further gasification of the districts of the Republic of South Ossetia ".

Leonid Tibilov thanked the leadership of "Gazprom" for their understanding and support.

"The issue of gasification of the districts of the Republic was also raised by me during the meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin," - said Tibilov.

The financial support, provided by Russia, is totally spent on restoration and development of the Republic, said the President of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov during the live broadcast on the channel Russia 24.

Tibilov has noted that the priority areas are the construction of infrastructure and economic development.

"Out of 3.6 billion rubles, provided for construction and restoration of the Republic in 2017 within the framework of the Investment program, is being spent the bulk of an amount - Tibilov said. - In the current and next year we will build more than 300 apartments for citizens, as well as for persons, whose homes were destroyed as a result of the August war, unleashed by Georgia, against South Ossetia. "

Tibilov has stressed that great attention is paid to the construction of roads.

"For construction and renovation of roads in the capital and in the remote areas of the Republic are allocated vast sums of money - this also concerns the roads to the villages that have not been renovated for over 30 years, - added the head of state. - In 2016 we will improve 11 central streets of the capital. This year will also be completed the construction of the road-Sinagur Karzman ".

Construction of roads to the mountainous villages will contribute to their development, said Tibilov.

According to the commentary of Deputy Secretary of Russian Security Council Rashid Nurgaliyev to the updated National Security Strategy, approved by the President of Russia, one of the main directions of the foreign policy of Moscow is to strengthening cooperation with the CIS, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The document says that the new version of the Strategy specified the objectives of co-operation of the Russian Federation with partners in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union.

One of the key directions of the foreign policy in accordance with the document is the development of relations of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with States-participants of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia.

According to Nurgaliyev, Russia will continue the integration processes in the space of states - participants of the CIS in the framework of the Commonwealth, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

"Undoubtedly, the interaction with these countries on various aspects of regional and international security has stabilized the situation in the countries and regions bordering on them," - said Nurgaliyev.

Stable development of South Ossetia for the past few years is due to strengthening of relations with the Russian Federation, told the news agency "Res" the head of administration of Tskhinval district of South Ossetia Alan Pliev, commenting on the meeting of the presidents of South Ossetia and Russia.

March 31, 2016 in Moscow will meet President of the Republic of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The unconstructive position of the Georgian delegation prevented the adoption of the joint statement of the commitment to the principle of non-use of force by the participants in the Geneva discussions, - told reporters Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of South Ossetia on post conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev.

According to him, the focus of the 35th round of international discussions, which took place on 22-23 March in Geneva, was on preparation of a legally binding document on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"Unfortunately, during the past rounds, we have not yet reached our main goal, which is facing the Geneva discussions – preparation of the legally binding documents on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as security of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia", ​​- said Dzhioev.

The discussions were held in two working groups - on security and humanitarian issues.

"The round was marked by the fact that on the eve of the meeting - 10 March there was a tripartite release of prisoners, as a result of which four our citizens illegally serving sentences in Georgian prisons, returned home, - said Dzhioev. - On behalf of South Ossetia, I thanked all those who, within and outside the Geneva Discussions took part in this noble cause. "

Dzhioev has noted that the South Ossetian side also drew attention to the recent increase in provocative actions by the Georgian side in the border area of South Ossetia and Georgia.

"Near the village of Jariasheni were repeatedly held unauthorized rallies,. - Dzhioev said. - We regarded them as another attempt by the Georgian side to escalate the situation on the eve of the important meetings – a meeting of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin with the representative of the Georgian Government - Zurab Abashidze and the next round of the Geneva discussions. "

The first working group, as usual, discussed the issues related to preparation of the legally binding documents on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia."

"As a step in this direction was suggested to adopt a joint statement of all parties to be committed to the principle of non-use of force - Dzhioev said. - We had pre-sent the participants the draft short statement. Our proposal was supported by the Abkhaz and Russian colleagues, representatives of international organizations, but once again the unconstructive position of the Georgian delegation prevented to make such a joint statement. "

The South Ossetian side has also focused on the fact that the situation in the region may be tense in connection with training of the DAESH terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia.

"The Georgian side tried to deny it, saying that it was the safest, the most stable region in Georgia, even for the president, government and non-governmental organizations in Georgia - said Dzhioev. - We, in turn, said that the Pankisi Gorge was the object of attention of the Georgian authorities, non-governmental organizations, that could be regarded that the situation in this region is tense.

Murat Dzhioev has added that in the course of the 35 rounds was also discussed the issue of the missing South Ossetian citizens.

"Serbian specialist Dusan Ignyatovich prepared a report with recommendations. This report, as the report of the experts of Council of Europe, made in 2010, contained the information that three citizens of South Ossetia were in the hands of law-enforcement bodies of Georgia - said Dzhioev. - Therefore, Georgia, as a state, is responsible to clarify the fate of these citizens. We expect that the recommendations contained in the report of Ignyatovich will be studied. "

Dzhioev has added that the South Ossetian side has also insisted on returning of the icon-triptych, stolen in 1991, to South Ossetia.

"The icon triptych is illegal in Georgia since 2004," - said Dzhioev.