In 2022, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia, in accordance with the tasks assigned to it by the country's leadership and the legislation of the Republic, continued to work to uphold and promote the national interests of South Ossetia in the international arena, according to the message of the Foreign Ministry dedicated to the results of the year.
The Ministry has noted that in the outgoing year, the work was carried out to strengthen and develop mutually beneficial cooperation with the states with which South Ossetia has diplomatic relations, as well as to expand international contacts.
“The Ministry took part in the preparation, organization and implementation of visits of foreign delegations to the Republic of South Ossetia and visits of South Ossetian delegations to foreign states, carried out consular work to solve the problems of South Ossetian citizens who are outside the Republic,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.
Domestic political events
In the spring of 2022, the important political event for the Republic as a whole took place - the presidential election. Polling stations for citizens of the Republic living abroad were opened in foreign offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic. Foreign observers from Russia, Austria, Venezuela, Italy, Syria, Turkey, etc. visited South Ossetia to monitor the presidential elections, which undoubtedly gave greater legitimacy to the political process.
A number of anniversaries were celebrated in 2022: the 30th anniversary of historical events - the first referendum on the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and the adoption of the Act of Declaration of Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia, the entry of peacekeeping forces into the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict on the basis of the Agreement on the Principles of Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian the Ossetian conflict, as well as the 100th anniversary of the formation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region, the Appeal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia to the governments of foreign states in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Ossetian genocide was published in 12 languages of the world.
In 2022, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic celebrated its 30th anniversary. All these years, the Ministry has been firmly defending the interests of the state and people on the diplomatic front, making a significant contribution to the preservation of peace and tranquility in the region, contributing in every possible way to further strengthening the independence of the country. For the 30th anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uniforms and insignia were developed and approved for acting Ossetian diplomats, as well as the emblem and banner of the Ministry.
Not without sad events - the third Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia, candidate of history, professor, senior researcher at the Z. Vaneev Research Institute, a laureate of the Z. Vaneev, State Prize named after K. Khetagurov, head of the Department of History of Ossetia and Caucasian Studies of the South Ossetian State University Yuri Sergeevich Gagloity passed away.
External threat
In the external sphere, the main threat to the national security of South Ossetia and the region as a whole remains the unsettled relationship with Georgia and its unwillingness to sign a legally binding document on the non-use of force. The expansion of the NATO presence on the territory of Georgia and the ongoing build-up of its military potential, large-scale military exercises with the participation of foreign troops in close proximity to the borders of South Ossetia, posing a threat to regional stability and security, as well as provocative calls from Ukraine and certain Western countries to Georgia are of serious concern to open a "second front" against Russia in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which could once again provoke the Georgian leadership into steps fraught with unpredictable consequences. In this regard, the Ministry repeatedly made relevant statements and comments.
Russia
Among the priorities of South Ossetia's foreign policy is the further development and strengthening of relations with Russia. South Ossetian-Russian relations are based on a solid contractual and legal base, which includes more than 130 treaties, agreements, protocols of an interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental nature and covering almost all areas of interaction. Nevertheless, work to strengthen the legal framework continues.
Russia supports the formation of South Ossetia as a sovereign democratic state, contributes to the reliable provision of its security, socio-economic development (within the framework of the Investment Program). On August 4, 2022, the Agreement was signed between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation on promoting the implementation of the state program for the socio-economic development of the Republic of South Ossetia for 2022-2025.
On June 15, negotiations were held in Moscow between President of the Republic A.E. Gagloev and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov, during which the unwavering commitment to the principles of equality and mutual respect was confirmed, a firm commitment was expressed to strengthen the allied South Ossetian-Russian relations.
On August 4 and December 28, a meeting of President of the Republic A.E. Gagloev with the Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation D.N. Kozak, during which topical issues of bilateral cooperation between South Ossetia and Russia were discussed.
On November 29, a meeting of President of South Ossetia A.E. took place in Simferopol. Gagloev with the head of the Republic of Crimea S.V. Aksenov, during which topical issues of bilateral cooperation between South Ossetia and the Republic of Crimea were discussed.
On November 1, a meeting was held in Moscow between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic A.M. Dzhioev and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov, which took place in an atmosphere of openness, friendship and mutual understanding. Close contacts have developed between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia and Russia, interaction was carried out within the framework of the signed "Plan of consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for 2021-2022."
On December 15-17, a working visit of a delegation of South Ossetia headed by Prime Minister K.Kh Dzhussoev to Crimea took place, where meetings were held with the leadership of the Republic of Crimea. The parties agreed to continue work within the framework of the agreement signed in April 2019 between South Ossetia and Crimea, discussed the main parameters of the Action Plan for 2023-2025, which provides for the development of interaction in such areas as trade and economic cooperation, sports, tourism, education, culture , as well as processing industry and agriculture.
Close inter-parliamentary cooperation continues. On December 15, a meeting was held in Moscow between Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic Alan Alborov and Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, at which, among other things, the creation of a high-level commission between the parliaments of the two countries and the development of interaction within the relevant committees were discussed. The delegation of the Parliament of South Ossetia also took part in the work of the 63rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia as permanent observers.
On May 23, a regular meeting of the Commission for Cooperation between the Parliament of South Ossetia and the Federation Council of Russia was held in Moscow. On November 18, a meeting of the Joint Commission on Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation of the Parliament of South Ossetia and the Federation Council of Russia was held in Tskhinval.
On May 28, the President of Russia signed the Federal Law “On the Ratification of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia on the Settlement of Issues of Dual Citizenship”. The federal law was adopted by the State Duma on May 19, 2022 and approved by the Federation Council on May 25, 2022. (On December 1, 2021, the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia ratified the Agreement between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation on the settlement of issues of dual citizenship.)
The agreement, signed on September 20, 2021 in Tskhinval, provides that citizens will be able to acquire citizenship of another country without renouncing the existing one. According to the document, persons who have received dual citizenship will have the right to social security, education, and medical care in accordance with the legislation of the country in which they permanently reside. This rule also applies to military service. The Agreement will enter into force on the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification.
On September 27-29, the seventh meeting of the Joint South Ossetian-Russian Demarcation Commission was held in Vladikavkaz, at which the progress of the international legal registration of the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation was discussed, the Work Plan for 2023 was considered and adopted.
On August 27-29, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia took part in the V Global Forum of Young Diplomats in Kazan, organized by the Council of Young Diplomats (YMD) of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The leading diplomatic universities of Russia (MGIMO(U) and DA MFA of Russia) annually provide support to South Ossetia in the training of international specialists, as well as professional development of diplomatic staff of the MFA of South Ossetia.
DNR, LNR
In February 2022, the Republic of South Ossetia expressed strong support for the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR and conduct a special military operation to protect the inhabitants of Donbass from the current Kyiv nationalist regime. And then it supported the entry of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation. It should be emphasized that fighters from South Ossetia have been taking an active part in the special military operation. South Ossetia have been regularly sending humanitarian aid to the Donbass, receiving refugees from the Donbass republics.
In November, President of South Ossetia A.E. Gagloev visited the zone of the special operation in order to support the fighters from Ossetia. He met with servicemen of the 4th military base and volunteers from South Ossetia and handed them technical equipment and humanitarian aid.
