South Ossetia will resolve the issue of gas supply of Leningor district without Georgia, said South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev at today`s briefing in Tskhinval, commenting on the results of the last round of international discussions on security in Transcaucasia, held in Geneva on 26-27 March.
"The Georgian side reported as if it was ready to supply Leningor district of South Ossetia with gas. This statement, in particular, has the political aim, thus Tbilisi wants to emphasize that the new Georgian authorities are trying to simplify the border crossing in the area, although it is very loyal, "- said Dzhioev.
According to him, the South Ossetian side reminded the Georgian delegation that over the four years South Ossetia had been seeking the assistance of Georgia in addressing the issue of gas supply of the district.
"Today we are going to resolve this issue, as well as we solved the problem with power supply and the road to Leningor district. We have also noted that with the decision of socio-economic problems in the district the regime of temporary crossing will be reconsidered in accordance to the current regulatory framework of the Republic ", - said the envoy.
He has added, the Georgian side proposed the supply gas of Leningor district at inflated prices.
"The prices for gas, proposed by the Georgian side, are more than three times higher than the prices paid by other citizens of our Republic," - said the envoy.
According to him, during the Geneva talks, in fact, should also be discussed the issue of refugees.
"The Georgian authorities are trying to address this issue behind our back. In recent years, they have brought this issue up for discussion at the UN General Assembly, which members are neither South Ossetia nor Abkhazia. Thus, we no longer consider the issue of the refugees at the Geneva discussions, although we have repeatedly noted that we fully adhere to international norms of solution of their problems. But to discuss this issue, they should provide suitable facilities and Georgia should not politicize this humanitarian issue, "- said Dzhioev.
In general, as noted by the authorized representative, the primary goal of the Geneva discussions is still the work on a legally binding document on the non-use of force by Georgia against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"Unfortunately, Georgia's position on the issue differs fundamentally from the position of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgian side declares its commitment to the policy of non-use of force, but in fact does everything in order to delay the work on the preparation of the document, "- said Dzhioev.
He has noted that the South Ossetian side in Geneva also repeated its proposal to create a zone free of weapons along the border of South Ossetia.
"This also applies to the airspace along the border of the Republic" - said the envoy.
In addition, despite the stabilized situation along the southern border of South Ossetia, violations of the border are still frequent.
"We see it as the state boundary between South Ossetia and unfriendly Georgia. Georgian side and its Western patrons call it the administrative boundary line, saying as if the authorities of our Republic create problems for the border residents. We have pointed out the presence of the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia, with which we have not concluded a treaty on good-neighborliness, noting that the regime at the border, as well as measures to strengthen the border, are carried out in strict accordance with the legislation of the Republic," -said Dzhioev.
