Russia today is a guide to the outside world for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, said South Ossetian expert Alan Dzhussoev in an interview with the “Res“news agency.
According to him, the recognition of the independence of Tskhinval and Sukhum by Moscow radically changed the situation in the South Caucasus.
“Both states have acquired their territorial integrity and acquired a very important strategic ally in the person of the Russian Federation, which radically changed the geopolitical picture in the South Caucasus, and also affected the relations of the South Caucasus states with each other,” said Dzhussoev.
He has noted that today the South Caucasus for the Russian Federation is a territory of cross-border geopolitical interests, which, inter alia, extend to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“One way or another, we are guides of Russia's foreign policy on the territory of the South Caucasus, which is a zone of strategic and national interests of the Russian Federation,” the expert specified. “And this alliance between Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russia is dictated by the living conditions and foreign political and geopolitical threats that Moscow, Tskhinval and Sukhum face today.”
Dzhussoev has explained that terrorism and the expansion of NATO in the Caucasus pose an external threat to these countries.
“We cannot but strengthen and not expand allied relations with Russia and Abkhazia,” the expert believes. “The history of the last 30 years shows that we cannot do without each other in the South Caucasus region”.
Dzhussoev, however, has noted that Georgia is also a direct neighbor of the Russian Federation, like Azerbaijan.
“Russia will try to build relations with both Georgia and Azerbaijan as with its neighbors, as with states that, like us, directly border it,” he explained. “But Russia very clearly differentiates relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia and relations with Georgia.”
According to the expert, Russia does not link the improvement of relations with Georgia with the surrender of the interests of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"The Russian Federation has recognized the statehood of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and is building allied integration relations between the two republics," he continued.
At the same time, according to Dzhussoev, the Russian Federation also seeks to build good-neighborly relations with Georgia, including in the economic sphere.
“It is clear that they cannot be allied, but at a minimum, Russia is striving to build good neighborly relations with Georgia, to establish economic cooperation,” said the expert.
According to Dzhussoev, Georgia claims that the Russian Federation occupied the territory of Georgia, forgetting that people living in these territories do not consider themselves occupied.
The expert has noted, that in this issue the Georgian authorities are inconsistent with their dependence on the United States.
“Georgia has opened a visa-free regime for the citizens of Russia, that is, in other words, Georgia has introduced a visa-free regime for the citizens of the occupying country,” said Dzhussoev. - It looks like this if Azerbaijan, which considers Armenia an occupier, would open for its residents a visa-free regime to enter its state, or the Palestinians would open their borders to Israelis. That is, it’s out of the ordinary facts that suggest that Georgia’s foreign policy towards Russia is not shaped in Georgia itself, but is dictated from outside, in particular, from the United States. And what the Americans say to their colleagues in Tbilisi, they do the same.”
Dzhussoev drew attention to the fact that many Georgian experts called the visa-free regime for Russian citizens as the opportunity to improve the economic situation in Georgia.
“But we must understand that in today's world realities, no any state binds itself to another state's economy, if there is no close political interaction,” the expert believes.
In his opinion, today the alliance in the South Caucasus between Turkey and the Russian Federation, Russia and Azerbaijan is situational in nature.
“It iscaused by certain external threats that affect internal stability in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and to some extent in the border regions of the Russian Federation,” said Dzhussoev.
The expert has stressed that, unlike these temporary alliances, Russia has reliable allies in the Caucasus.
“Russia in the South Caucasus has two indisputable allies, two nations on which it can rely, this is Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” explained Dzhussoev.
The expert has stressed that the allied relations between the Russian Federation, the RSO and the RA will strengthen and move to a higher level.
“Of course, cooperation in the economic sphere and geopolitics will grow,” said Dzhussoev. “We need to understand that in our success in recognizing the independence of South Ossetia by other states, there is also the merit of the Russian Foreign Ministry.”
Dzhussoev has noted that the work on recognition of independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia is carried out by three foreign ministries.
“We are known in the Arab world today, since Syria has recognized us. We also have contacts with the Republika Srpska, the expert continued. “Relations have been established with Donetsk and Lugansk, where South Ossetia and Abkhazia, of course, play a significant role in upholding the sovereignty and security of these states.”
According to the South Ossetian expert, the role of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the Russian foreign policy will only increase and expand.
