Today the next meeting within the frames of the mechanisms on prevention and reaction to incidents on the border has taken place in the Georgian village Dvani, which is located next to frontier of South Ossetia. As reported by the Plenipotentiary of the President of the RSO on post conflict settlement Merab Chigoev to the news agency "Res", representatives of Russia, South Ossetia, Georgia, the EU Mission of Observers in Georgia and the OSCE have taken part in the meeting.
There were 10 questions on the agenda. Four questions and two informational messages have been submitted by the delegation of South Ossetia, the other questions have been placed on the agenda by representatives of Georgia and the EU observers. The review of the information on incidents which happened on the border after the last meeting on July, 23 have been traditionally discussed. «We have expressed our satisfaction with the results of analysis of these meetings: each time the quantity of the incidents has decreased», - Chigoev has noted. According to his information for the analyzed period, it has been registered only 14 facts of illegal crossing of the frontier of the Republic of South Ossetia. 10 of them - from territory of Georgia to the territory of South Ossetia, and four - from territory of South Ossetia to territory of Georgia. «For comparison, - I`d like to note that much more facts of illegal crossing of the frontier have been registered till June, 28. I hope that the tendency to reduction of facts of violating the frontier and other incidents on the border will extend», - he has said. Chigoev has specified that «with regard to the mentioned 10 facts we have noticed that 18 persons were citizens of Georgia, one –a citizen of Russia and three of them – the citizens of the RSO. The Public procurator's office in Leningorskiy district has begun criminal proceedings against three of them who had hunting rifles with them for violating the frontier of the Republic of South Ossetia in Leningorskiy district». The relevant investigatory actions are also conducted. The other citizens have been expelled from the territory of the RSO to the territory of Georgia being warned not to violate the frontier of the RSO in future. «Yesterday beyond the format of mechanisms our frontier service transferred nine citizens of Georgia (two of them are the ethnic Ossetians) to the Georgian party, and in turn, the Georgian party transferred us one citizen of the Russian Federation - the inhabitant of Stavropol Territory, the constructor of one of the building sites being restored in South Ossetia,- who had crossed the territory of Georgia from ignorance», - Chigoev has informed. He has added that lately it was registered four cases of violating the air space of the RSO by Georgian unmanned aerial vehicles (two of them - over the town Kvajsa) and 20 facts of supervising over the territory of South Ossetia by the EU Mission of Observers in Georgia. The South-Ossetian side has warned again both the EU observers and the representatives of Georgia about inadmissibility of violating the air space of the RSO that happens regularly. It has directed again attention of the EU Mission of Observers to inadmissibility of supervising over the territory of South Ossetia by them. «From our point of view, they fulfill the same actions which in due time the law enforcement agencies of Georgia carried out. All of us remember well, how they used the results of similar supervision while attacking the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia in August, 2008», - Merab Chigoev has explained the position of South Ossetia on this point. Besides, according to Chigoev, the Georgian party has raised a question on fate of the detained citizens of Georgia who are under examination or serve their time in the territory of South Ossetia. The South-Ossetian representatives have informed that for today the criminal cases of 13 citizens of Georgia are investigated by the law enforcement bodies of South Ossetia. «I`d like to notice, - Chigoev has underlined, - that proceedings against three of them have been recently instituted for crossing the frontier with weapon in Leningorskiy district, nine more have been condemned and serve their time in the colony of South Ossetia, against one of them an action has been brought before the court and the sentence is not passed yet». At the same time, 31 citizens of the Ossetian nationality are under examination or in prisons in the territory of Georgia. The South-Ossetian party has offered the Georgian side to make mutual transference of the majority of these citizens, so the law enforcement bodies of both parties could estimate their criminal guilt and award a sentence. «We`ve been pleased, - has specified Chigoev, - that our offer met full understanding both of the EU Mission, and the co-chairmen of the Geneva discussions on the OSCE, and they also urged the Georgian party to consider and accept the offer. We have also met certain understanding of the Georgian side and have agreed that this question will be actively discussed on a hot line till the following meeting and one should not exclude that we will come to any agreement till the following meeting». Besides, the Georgian party has raised a question on rehabilitation of partially destroyed headwork in the village Dzhvarisubani in Leningorskiy district, whence water was delivered to settlements of Dushetsky region and has addressed to South Ossetia with the offer to restore this headwork and to admit the Georgian workers and relevant experts to the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia. «We have declared that our experts are ready to rehabilitate this construction, however the question is not of the headwork restoration, but about drinkable irrigational water delivery to the population of Georgia from the territory of South Ossetia. We have reminded the Georgian party and the EU observers that we ourselves raised this question repeatedly. Considering that it is purely the humanitarian question, we have reminded the Georgian party that just the same is the question of natural gas supply of the inhabitants of Leningorskiy district in the Republic of South Ossetia from the territory of Georgia», - Chigoev has emphasized. He has reminded that «this issue has been discussing during two years, and our offer to carry out the parallel natural gas supply in Leningorskiy district from Georgia and rehabilitation of the headwork with the subsequent water delivery from the territory of South Ossetia to Georgia has not met consent of the Georgian party». According to Merab Chigoev, «this question has been supported by OSCE, having agreed with us that these issues are humanitarian and they should be resolved in parallel. Nevertheless, we could not advance this question». A number of other issues have been also discussed; in particular, the head of the EU Mission of Observers in Georgia Tyshkevich has raised a question on mutual informing by the parties at conducting military or other maneuvers next to the border in advance to warn the people who live near the border that they would not be frightened. «Naturally, it is a normal suggestion, - Chigoev has underlined. - We had already discussed this question and gave the similar information, when our law enforcement bodies were conducting maneuvers near the frontier. We will continue the similar activities, and I think that we shall meet similar reaction both of the Georgian party, and the EU observers». The question on providing safety for citizens of South Ossetia and Georgia during the agricultural works and harvesting along the border has also been discussed. « In general the South-Ossetian party is satisfied with the results of the meeting though we could not resolve some issues», - Chigoev has summarized. The next meeting will take place after conducting the Geneva discussions, on October, 20, 2011.
