The military exercises held annually in Georgia cause concern to South Ossetia and its Russian partners, the RSO Foreign Minister Akhsar Dzhioev said at the briefing in Tskhinval.
“Modern international relations tend to deteriorate. We are all closely following the processes that are taking place in the world, and we are witnesses and participants in global changes in terms of security, - said Dzhioev. - The system of international relations that developed as a result of the World War is not changing for the better. As for our neighbors from the south, they, unfortunately, have their own vision, their own vector, and they are focused on the Western countries. We do not share this approach; we are focused on Russia.”
According to the Minister, the military exercises that are held annually in Georgia cannot but cause concern in the Republic (scheduled for this year).
“We are following the processes taking place in Georgia with concern. NATO military exercises are held there every year, and the presence of non-regional countries with a military component in the region worries both us and our Russian colleagues. We annually respond to these events in terms of information message,” the Minister said.
Akhsar Dzhioev has noted that in the event of a military threat from Georgia, South Ossetia will turn to its strategic partner.
"We have a partner, a friend - Russia, with which there are bilateral agreements regarding our security, according to these documents, Russian armed forces are present on the territory of our Republic," the Foreign Minister has stressed.
The Minister also drew attention to the importance of the work of the Geneva format.
“This is the only negotiation format where South Ossetia can convey its point of view to the world community. For many years, the position of our Republic, Russian and Abkhaz partners has been based on the fact that a legally binding document on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia has been developed, unfortunately, we have not yet been able to move forward. But the work in this direction will undoubtedly be continued,” the Foreign Minister has concluded.
