The ceremony of signing the Agreement on the establishment of twinning ties between Tskhinval and Vladivostok took place on Wednesday online.
The Vladivostok Mayor Oleg Gumenyuk has noted that the document will be a good help for the development of bilateral relations.
“We are happy to welcome you to our friendly family. Our athletes, students, schoolchildren will travel to Tskhinval for joint trainings and other events, share their experience. You will come to us, you will be able to plant a tree that will bring your piece to the city of Vladivostok,” he said.
Gumenyuk has added that there are 10 general consulates and 10 diplomatic missions in Vladivostok, the honorary consul of South Ossetia in the Far Eastern Federal District Yason Demeev has been working for more than 10 years.
“About 800 people from Ossetia live in the Primorsky Territory of Russia today, several years ago they united into one public organization, and it was he who played the main role in this union. We are proud of his merits,” he said.
The Tskhinval Mayor Alan Kochiev called the signing of the Agreement a good undertaking, expressing hope for fruitful cooperation.
“This agreement will lay the foundation for the construction of a strong bridge of friendship between the inhabitants of our cities. For many of our compatriots, Vladivostok became home many years ago. We know that the Ossetian diaspora of Vladivostok actively participates in all areas of the city's life, we are grateful that it has been provided with all the necessary conditions for introducing the younger generations to national traditions, spiritual values, native language and culture,” said the mayor.
South Ossetian Foreign Minister Dmitry Medoev has noted that he was in Vladivostok several times, from where he brought a piece of this city to Tskhinval.
“We will try to further developing our bilateral relations, twinning, this is only the beginning. After the recognition of the independence of our Republic, we signed more than 100 intergovernmental agreements with the Russian Federation, more than two dozen agreements with the regions of the Russian Federation, and, of course, we would like to expand the geography, which we will discuss during our upcoming visit to Vladivostok, "Medoev emphasized.
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Vladivostok, Andrey Brovarets, has noted that Vladivostok is expanding the geography of its twin-city relations.
“Russia and South Ossetia are linked by a deep history. We still have a common language, the same mentality. Ossetia has preserved the Russian language as the state language, in which we signed the document today. The agreement is a formality, we always feel like brothers,” stressed Brovarets.
Yason Demeev, in turn, expressed gratitude to Dmitry Medoev for his understanding and support over the long years preceding the signing of the Agreement.
“Of those present here, I am probably the happiest about this event. I am glad that we have come to the point that two cities, native to me, have signed an agreement. Vladivostok is my home, Tskhinval is the capital of my homeland, my ancestors are there,” he said.
