Issues related to the violation of the state border and the situation in the area of the village of Tsnelis (Uista), where several years ago Georgian policemen set up the illegal post, were discussed at the 104th meeting of the IPRM format, the head of the South Ossetian delegation to the IPRM, Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy for post-conflict settlement, Egor Kochiev, told reporters.
According to him, despite the difficult epidemiological situation in South Ossetia and Georgia, the meeting took place.
“In recent days, there has been a surge in the coronavirus disease not only in our republic, but also in neighboring countries. However, the meetings are held in compliance with all safety standards, including the delivery of PCR tests on the eve of the dialogue and compliance with the mask regime, etc. I think if even one participant had confirmed the coronavirus, the meeting would not have taken place,” Kochiev said.
The head of the South Ossetian delegation has noted that during the dialogue, issues related to accidents and incidents on both sides of the state border were discussed.
“The parties voiced problematic issues, and the South Ossetian delegation has been raising the issue of the Georgian post on the territory of South Ossetia, near the settlement of Tsnelis, for several meetings. On this issue, seven technical meetings were held within the framework of the IPRM, we talk about this at every meeting of the IPRM, but so far, the Georgian partty has not taken a single step to resolve the situation,” the Deputy Plenipotentiary said.
Kochiev has added that South Ossetia considers the settlement of the situation in the Tsnelis region only in the removal of the illegal post and the withdrawal of all Georgian security forces.
"There are several more places on the Georgian territory where strongholds of the Georgian police are equipped, the number of which has increased markedly," he specified.
Since the last meeting of the IPRM, the facts of violation of the airspace of South Ossetia by unmanned aerial vehicles from Georgia have been recorded again. According to Kochiev, the location of the drones has changed slightly.
“And if most violations were recorded in Znaur district, the last time their largest number was recorded near the Leningor border crossing point.
“Every time we point out these facts to the Georgian party, we remind that such facts are a direct path to the incident. From publications in social networks, we found out that the launch of drones is mainly carried out by non-governmental organizations in Georgia, including Strength in Unity. But there are also facts when flights take place in the field of view of the Georgian police, and this causes very serious concern,” said Kochiev.
As for statistics, twenty violators of the state border have been detained since last year, of which, according to the head of the South Ossetian delegation, nine were expelled without penalties. Two were fined, and criminal cases were initiated against six for various offenses.
At the meeting, the question was raised about the alleged crossing of the Russian border guards into the territory of Georgia near the village of Kirbali. According to Yegor Kochiev, this information is not true.
“Russian border guards never cross the state border, and on this issue, we have given a fairly exhaustive question,” he said.
Recently, according to the KGB of South Ossetia, cases of smuggling of goods and cargo across the South Ossetian-Georgian border have become more frequent. Yegor Kochiev has clarified that smuggling is a serious article, and if smugglers are not detained in South Ossetia, then they will inevitably be detained on the territory of Georgia, where they receive quite real terms.
“Two of the detainees are in the pre-trial detention center of the Republic of South Ossetia and are waiting for the end of the investigation and trial. They pass under two articles - smuggling of tobacco products and violation of the state border," Kochiev stressed.
The next meeting of the IPRM is scheduled for 4 March.
