Fifteen years ago, tragic events took place in South Ossetia, which, without exaggeration, can be called a turning point in the modern history of the South Ossetian people, dividing the life of the country into "before" and "after", the press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia says on the 15th anniversary of Georgia's armed aggression against South Ossetia.
"On the night of August 8, 2008, following the criminal order of the Georgian President Saakashvili with the active support of the "collective West", Georgian troops, in violation of the agreements reached within the internationally recognized negotiating format to resolve the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, attacked the capital of South Ossetia, the city of Tskhinval and the location of the Ossetian and Russian peacekeeping forces using the entire range of artillery weapons supplied by the "friends of Georgia".
The barbaric operation to exterminate the Ossetians called "Open Field" has become a continuation of the 1920 genocide, when the criminal regime of the so-called. "Georgian Democratic Republic" walked with fire and sword through South Ossetia, flooding its territory with the blood of civilians right up to the Ruck Gorge," the message says.
The Foreign Ministry has noted that the August war caused numerous casualties among the Ossetian and Russian military personnel, peacekeepers, civilians; civilian infrastructure, social facilities, and medical institutions were destroyed.
"There is no doubt that the Georgian leadership's confidence in the impunity of its actions was strongly promoted by Washington's policy in Transcaucasia and the full support of Georgia's political ambitions from a number of countries, and the prospect of Georgia's entry into NATO, proclaimed at the alliance's summit in Bucharest in April 2008, served as a trigger to the beginning of a full-scale military aggression against South Ossetia.
Fraternal Russia came to the rescue of the people of South Ossetia, which was in a critical situation, defending its right to life in conditions of the unequal struggle. Russia's rapid and tough response as part of the operation to force the aggressor to peace stopped the bloodshed and protected the people of South Ossetia from physical extermination, ensured peace and security. The logical continuation of the actions taken by the leadership of the Russian Federation was the historic decision to recognize the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia on August 26, 2008.
The Foreign Ministry has added that in the current conditions of aggravation of military-political tension in the world, Georgia's refusal to sign a legally binding document on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia within the framework of the Geneva discussions, the increased military exercises of the United States and its allies on the territory of Georgia, permanent promoting Georgia's accession to NATO jeopardizes security in the region, contradicts the provisions of the August 2008 agreements and undermines multilateral efforts to stabilize the situation.
