The South Ossetian Foreign Ministry commented on the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's visit to the border area near the Republic.
"On October 16, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, visited the border area near South Ossetia as part of his visit to Georgia.
It's no secret that it has become a sort of 'good tradition' for Western politicians visiting Tbilisi to visit our border to once again criticize Russia and South Ossetia, portraying Georgia as an 'innocent victim,'" the Ministry has stated.
Such ritualistic excursions, which more closely resemble "political tourism," deeply perplex us, the Foreign Ministry continued.
"They call into question the objectivity of the OSCE as a mediator and the role of Switzerland as a neutral country.
Instead of promoting genuine stabilization, such visits only fuel Tbilisi's destructive approach, which prefers to politicize humanitarian issues while ignoring the prevailing realities.
We believe that the use of inappropriate terminology in the context of the South Ossetian-Georgian settlement, including within the framework of the International Security Discussions (ISD), is unacceptable," the Foreign Ministry has noted.
The Foreign Ministry has emphasized that the so-called "administrative line" is the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia.
"It emerged as a direct consequence of the Georgian aggression, which was made possible, in part, with the connivance of Tbilisi's Western patrons.
The border development is our internal process, aimed solely at ensuring the security of our citizens.
"Any attempts to speculate on this topic and politicize delimitation and demarcation issues only confirm the bias of a number of international organizations," the Ministry has stated.
The Foreign Ministry called on the OSCE, the current Swiss Chairmanship, and other international organizations to adhere to the principles of objectivity and neutrality.
"It should be reminded that international discussions remain the only effective format for discussing security and stability in the region.
It is there, at the negotiating table, and not during partisan visits, that all problematic aspects, including border security, should be discussed.
We urge the Georgian side to abandon illusions and move on to constructive work.
A joint delimitation and demarcation of the border, which Tbilisi so readily demonstrates to foreign guests, would resolve many issues and significantly improve the lives of residents of the border areas," the statement reads.
South Ossetia is open to dialogue, but this is only possible with unconditional respect for the Republic's state sovereignty and consideration of its interests, the Ministry has concluded.
