In South Ossetia hope that the International Criminal Court will be impartial when considering the events of August 2008 in South Ossetia on the subject of war crimes, said Deputy Foreign Minister of South Ossetia Alan Kochiev.
"We are open and willing to cooperate and if necessary, we can provide all the materials on the events of the August war," - he added.
The Deputy Minister has noted that in South Ossetia, «to put it mildly, were surprised that the International Court of Justice attended to address violations of rights of citizens of both South Ossetia and Georgia in 2008, only seven years after the events."
"There are a lot of criminal cases that have been filed since August 2008 on the applications of citizens of South Ossetia, but unfortunately, the International Criminal Court did not even try to start to consider them in due course," - he explained.
Alan Kochiev has reminded that in 2008 it was Georgia that attacked South Ossetia, and unleashed the war.
"Residents of the Georgian enclaves in those days left their homes not for the reason that South Ossetian citizens and militia forced them to do it, as has said the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, but because the Georgian authorities deliberately applied efforts to take these people from the territory on which they were about to open fire, "- he stressed.
Commenting the head of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia Thea Tsulukiani on investigation by the Hague tribunal the events of August 2008, in which she hoped that "the Hague prosecutor can conduct investigative activities in the occupied territories", since the occupied territories are inaccessible for Georgia, the Deputy Minister said, that the question itself is incorrect.
"On one of the rounds of the Geneva discussions were invited experts on international law. They said that South Ossetia is an independent state, existing for 25 years. There are all attributes of the statehood - the government: the legislative and the executive powers. - With regard to the visit to South Ossetia by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, she may apply to the relevant competent authorities to obtain permission to enter our country to commit relevant proceedings. "
A week ago, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Fatou Bensouda applied for permission to proceed with an investigation about possible war crimes committed during the August 2008 armed conflict in South Ossetia.
