The decision that was made by the European Parliament on February 2 about provision of visa-free regime to Georgia has caused a boundless euphoria among Georgian authority, which began to offer these benefits to “those citizens of Georgia who live in territories that are not controlled by Georgian central government – in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia emphasizes again that the development of relations between the European Parliament and Georgia, including visa and visa-free relations, affects only to Georgia and doesn’t spread on South Ossetia citizens. Making such a proposal to citizens of an independent state, the Republic of South Ossetia, can’t but be explained by “disjoint logic” of representatives of Georgian authority.
25 years ago people of South Ossetia made a choice in favor of independence and still don’t want to have any relations with Georgia. Unable to realize it aggressive plans to depopulate South Ossetia, Georgia made a bet on all sorts of promises and propaganda tricks. However, like their predecessors, the sitting government of Georgia can not even refuse of invented in times of Gamsakhurdia references, which are offensive to each citizen of South Ossetia, like “Tskhinvali region”, “so-called South Ossetia”, and makes different obstacles to international contacts of South Ossetia people.
Citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia legitimately have Russian citizenship and documents and can travel the world, but it is Georgian government and its Western patrons who create different obstacles to entering the EU countries. Enough time has passed and Georgian government should already understand that the only possible model of South Ossetia-Georgia relationship is parity relations between two equal states.
February 3, 2017, Tskhinval