A meeting of the RSO President"s for Post-conflict settlement Boris Chochiev and RSO Foreign Minister Murat Djioev with the delegation of OSCE, EU and UN was held in Tskhinval. The delegation includes OSCE Chairman-in-Office Special Representative Christopoulos, UN SG Special Representative in Georgia Verbeke, the EU Special Representative Morel and other representatives of the organizations.
The Georgian side had fired at the living area of Tskhinval. «At 5:10 a.m. two shots of RPG-7 (manufactured in 1978) were made from the village of Nikozi. The launched grenades self-exploded in the location of kindergarten in Djioev Ave. No casualties were reported," says the SO MoD Press-Service.
The Georgian side is rapidly getting prepared for a new military aggression, reports the press-service of the RSO. "On the night of 9 February, fortification works had been carried out in the village of Ditsi located in four km south-east of Tskhinval. Apart from positions" fortification, new units of armored equipment had been brought to the village.
A member to Russian delegation in Geneva talks, Deputy Administration Chairman of North Ossetia"s Government Murat Tkhostov commented on Georgia"s declaring force majeure in relation to international inspection of its armed. "This factor is worth paying attentions by both our community and international agencies. Georgia refused to Russia"s possible participation in inspections of sites belonging to Georgia"s armed forces, however such inspections is envisaged in 1999 Vienna document/ This refusal should be viewed in thecontext of foreign policy of Georgia with its key element of preparation of diplomatic and other conditions for forceful return of South Ossetia", said Tkhostov.
"The resolution of PACE does not play any role", says the RSO Parliament Vice-Speaker Yuri Dzitsoity commenting on the PACE Resolution, in which the PA demanded from Moscow to reverse it recognition of South Ossetia nad Abkhazia and acknowledged the Russian military bases in the republics as illegal and the Russian military presence in Leningori district, Perevi and Upper Abkhazia as "occupation"."
According to Dzitsoiti, "this resolution is most like of a non-binding nature".
On 28 January, PACE had again discussed the events of August 2008 in South Ossetia and their consequences. According to Foreign Minister of RSO Murat Djioev, the adopted resolution contains softer attacks at South Ossetia and Russia, than those of the resolution adopted last autumn. "We are pleased to noted that the European community is still trying to find out what exactly had happened in August 2008 in South Ossetia.
Population census will be held in South Ossetia in 2010. This decision has been made by the RSO Government presidium. A draft law has been presented by the RSO Statistics Service. The last census in South Ossetia has been carried out in 1987. As stated by the Statistics Service, "it is planned to cover all districts of South Ossetia, including those occupied by Georgia. Presentloy, preparation works are being implemented".
Works on Tskhinval"s gasification continue. Currently, 30 % of the city are connected to gas, reports Alan Gabaraev, Director of "Energetica" company. "So far, gas supply has been resumed partly at northern, northwest and southwest sectors of Tskhinval. Our specialists continue checking the pipes in each house. A significant number of damages have been revealed stemming from Georgia"s aggression. The defects are being eliminated in shortest time possible.
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia had signed 26 January a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EU military mission (EUMM) on limited deployment of armamament at the territories adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia. According to the MoU, Georgia had committed itslf not to deploy more than a battalion of personnel and arms not exceeding 120-mm caliber in 15 km from the administrative borders of these republics.
This agreement has been commented by the Press-service of the RSO MoD.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has started a new phase of distribution of humanitarian assistance in South Ossetia. This assistance, including shoes and clothes, targets the most vulnerable people. From 1 November until 25 December 2008, the ICRC already carried out a large-scaled distribution of food and non-food items covering an overall number of 14,000 beneficiaries in four regions of South Ossetia. "After a thorough needs assessment, the ICRC identified a group of beneficiaries for the new round.