The questions of determining the legal status of the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross in South Ossetia have been discussed today in Tskhinval at the meeting of President Anatoly Bibilov with the European Red Cross Coordinator for Europe and Central Asia Eric Daniel Bunnskog and the head of the ICRC mission to the RSO Ashot Astabatsyan.
According to the press service of the head of state, it was also discussed the cooperation of the Red Cross with the South Ossetian departments responsible for the social situation.
Anatoly Bibilov told the ICRC representatives about the work carried out by the authorities of the Republic on the development of the social sphere and the expansion of social support for the population of South Ossetia.
Among the measures taken, the President described the increase in child benefits, as well as the planned increase in salaries and pensions in the Кepublic to a level exceeding the subsistence wage.
"We will increase our commitments on social issues. And I think that we will manage to reach a serious level when we can say that our state has become even more socially-oriented than it was a year or two ago," - Bibilov said.
The head of state has also addressed words of gratitude to the public organizations of South Ossetia and some political parties that took upon themselves certain social obligations to help people who found themselves in a difficult life situation.
The ICRC Representatives in the Republic of South Ossetia, for their part, gave a positive assessment of the dynamics of the development of processes for the provision of social assistance to citizens by the state and expressed the hope for strengthening cooperation in this area.
"We see our main goal in bringing all the positive developments and experience that already exist, to be united and develop a strategy that will allow us to establish more partnership relations in this area," - Ashot Astabatsyan said.
Anatoly Bibilov, in turn, has stressed that the joint work of the ICRC mission with the Ministry of Health and Social Development of South Ossetia plays an important role in these issues.
Turning to the question of determining the ICRC's legal status in South Ossetia, Erik Daniel Bunnskog has noted that since last year to this topic has been given increased attention.
"The main goal is to ensure that our legal status provides opportunities to address a number of practical issues that currently hamper our activities.
This, for example, is the technical issue of the bank account and the transfer of social contributions by our employees. And we are ready for a dialogue on this issue in order to find the ways out to solve it," - he said.
The head of state supported this initiative, noting that the issue of determining the ICRC's legal status in South Ossetia had to be resolved long ago, since there are no objective obstacles to this.
"Citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia, who work in the ICRC, after retirement should not remain in the broken trough, they must have length of service. Working in the ICRC, they cannot but be a part of the society in which they live and must make tax deductions to the Pension Fund," - Anatoly Bibilov said.
At the same time, the President has stressed that the ICRC is an organization that is outside of politics, and in this matter any political background must be ruled out.
"If there is a possibility of problems in terms of political aspects related to the activities of the ICRC with neighboring countries, in particular, if we mean that we can be an ICRC branch of the Republic of Georgia, of course, we will never go on this issue either we will not find a common language.
The only possible option is the branch of the ICRC, which operates in the Russian Federation. If there is no political link, then I see no problem in determining the legal status of the ICRC," - Bibilov said.
Representatives of the Red Cross have assured that such a problem does not exist, and there is no connection between the determination of the ICRC's right status and political aspects.
"We are happy to hear this and fully agree with you that there must be a completely pragmatic and practical approach to this issue, no one wants to go into politics," - said Eric Daniel Bunnskog.
At the end of the meeting, Ashot Astabatsyan has noted that as the new head of the ICRC mission in South Ossetia, he is in the Republic for an incomplete month. Stressing the warm attitude of the citizens of the Republic and South Ossetian partners, he has expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation.
"I really hope that I will be able to maintain the high level that was laid by my predecessors," - he said.
