Information agency "Res" has been monitoring the events at the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia, where in recent days Georgian extremists damaged several South Ossetian border markers.
The correspondent of IA "Res" asked the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of the RSO for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev to comment on the situation:
During the last three days the representatives of the Georgian non-governmental organizations damaged three South Ossetian border markers along the border between South Ossetia and Georgia in the areas of the South Ossetian and Georgian villages of Orchosan and Tsitelubani.
These actions are rowdy and provocative, accompanied by illegal penetration into the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia. I`d like to remind that the South Ossetian border authorities set up these boundary markers solely on the South Ossetian territory, at least 50 meters away from the border line.
Instead of stopping the illegal actions of the NGO`s from Tbilisi, like "Free zone" and other cities, clearly provoking the aggravation of the situation, the Georgian authorities have launched anti-Russian hysteria, accusing it of transferring border markers deep into the Georgian territory.
The South Ossetian side has repeatedly stated that Russian border guards, controlling the protection of the state border of South Ossetia, in accordance with the bilateral agreement, are not engaged in demarcation and delimitation of the state border. All work to set up border markers, as well as the relevant engineering structures is carried out by the South Ossetian border agency. Any claims against Russia are farfetched, unfounded and politically engaged.
Instead of conducting a real dialogue with South Ossetia, the authorities of which have repeatedly offered to start joint work on delimitation and demarcation of the state border, the official Tbilisi continues to "ignore" the existing realities, throwing accusations against Russia and appealing to its Western patrons.
In general, the hysteria that has broken out again in Georgia with regard to the boundary can be described as another "summer aggravation" disease. Similar actions involving "broad international attention" and accompanied by various bacchanalia, were held in previous years along the border - in the area of the villages Dietz, Dwan, Goget.
The South Ossetian side believes that all disputes and misunderstandings on the border issue must be resolved peacefully and should be businesslike within the existing formats of communication. We have informed the international mediators at the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia, and offered to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Mechanisms to prevent and respond to incidents, the mandate of which includes issues related to security and tranquility in the areas adjacent to the border.
