The Government of South Ossetia cannot confirm any current plans to build any kind of military airbase in our country. However, we would welcome any facility that would protect our people from further Georgian military attacks.
The world need not worry about what is happening in South Ossetia. We are working to build a free and independent country, where our people can live in peace and not be constantly afraid of attack from our neighbors. Rather, the international community should be worried about the future intentions of Georgia, which has attacked our country several times in recent years, including brutally only one year ago.
The area in which the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims a military airbase is being planned is near a convent. Building a military facility near the convent violates the Hague Convention of 1954 on Protection of Cultural Monuments. In addition the area is rugged mountainous terrain, unsuitable for an air support facility. Clearly, the Georgian Foreign Ministry continues a propaganda campaign to divert international public opinion away from its own military expansion.
Alan Pliev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of RSO
