Georgian police officers are increasing their presence in the border areas, creating several stronger points, one of which is located on the territory of South Ossetia, said the head of the South Ossetian delegation, Yegor Kochiev, after the 98th meeting in the IPRM format ended and the first in 2021.
According to Kochiev, recent meetings are held in an incomplete format, this is due to the difficult epidemiological situation in connection with the spread of coronavirus infection.
“But this does not prevent us from raising topical issues related to security and prevention of incidents and accidents on the state border of South Ossetia. At the meeting, the South Ossetian party raised issues related to the escalation of tension around the village of Uista (Tsnelis) in Znaur district of the RSO, which began in August 2019, when a Georgian police post was illegally constructed on the territory of South Ossetia, ”said the head of the South Ossetian delegation.
Kochiev has reminded that the South Ossetian pqrty every time offers to defuse the situation, which is possible only if the illegal post on the territory of South Ossetia is removed.
“Only after that we can talk about further security steps around the state border. We will not deviate from this condition. This post does not carry any load for Georgia, it does not protect anything, since there are no roads on this territory. From the illegal Georgian post located on the South Ossetian territory to the village of Tsnelis literally 250 - 300 meters, and to the nearest Georgian village - about three kilometers. And two other strong points are in close proximity to the state border,” the Deputy Plenipotentiary stressed.
All these facts, as noted by Kochiev, the South Ossetian delegation detailed at the meeting, noting that it perfectly understands the unreality of de-escalation with a wave of a magic wand, but “there is a hope that the situation in this area will be defused and it will return, at least to the situation that preceded 23 August 2019 ".
Violators with weapons
In the course of the dialogue, other issues were also raised, including the violation of the state border of South Ossetia by the citizens of Georgia. Yegor Kochiev has noted, that recently there were representatives of the Georgian police among the violators of the state border. According to him, if ordinary citizens of Georgia violate the state border out of ignorance or unknowingly, then the Georgian police know very well where the state border passes, and "their entry into the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia is regarded as a provocation, because the violators are armed policemen."
Yegor Kochiev has explained that the South Ossetian party expressed serious concern about this and warned colleagues that if violations continue, then the representatives of the South Ossetian border administration will respond accordingly within the framework of the legislation of the Republic of South Ossetia.
“As for ordinary citizens - violators of the state border, a humanitarian approach is applied to them and they are expelled to Georgia without penalties. But if they are suspected of committing offenses, then this is already the prerogative of the law enforcement agencies of South Ossetia, a criminal case is initiated, and in the future the court determines the degree of guilt and punishment,” he said.
The next meeting is scheduled for April 23, which will take place in a more favorable epidemic situation.
