Press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia

Pertaining to the 25th Anniversary of the Agreement on Principles of Settlement of the Georgian - Ossetian Conflict signed in Sochi

June 24 will see the 25th anniversary of the historical event – signing of Sochi Agreements on the Principles of Settlement of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict.

Signing of the historical Agreement was anticipated by a critical stage of military-political confrontation between South Ossetia and Georgia. Because of Georgian South Ossetia had suffered enormous damage aggression by the summer of 1992. 117 Ossetian villages were totally ravaged and burnt, more than 1000 people were killed and lost, more than 2,5 thousand people were injured, and the number of refugees exceeded 100 thousand. The aggression of those times culminated in the flagrant crime - shooting refugees dead at point-blank range from an ambush as they were on their way from South to North Ossetia.

Further escalation of the conflict threatened to involve all nations of Northern Caucasus and destabilize situation in the whole region.

In the developed conditions, thanks to the mediatory efforts of Russian diplomacy, the Agreement on Principles of Settlement of the Georgian - Ossetian Conflict was signed in Dagomys (not far from Sochi) by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Eduard Shevardnadze, the Chairman of the State Council of Georgia, and initialed by Torez Kulumbegov and Akhsarbek Galazov, leaders of South and North Ossetia correspondingly on July 24, 1992.

The event played a big role in regulation of the state of affairs in South Ossetia and stopped the bloodshed, which had been lasting for two and a half years. According to Sochi Agreements, Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPKF) marched into the area of Georgia-Ossetia conflict on July 14, 1992. 14 kilometers-long dividing line was established, which marked the buffer zone between the warring parties. Upon Sochi Agreements of 1992 each party in the conflict including Georgia and South Ossetia was given international-legal status, and thus the conflict was frozen. A fragile peace was established, people began returning to their homes.

However, it lasted till 2004, when Saakashvili’s regime, trying to solve the “Ossetian issue”, launched the first military adventure against South Ossetia. The main crackdown on peaceful process was made in 2008 on the eve of August 8. Barbarous attack committed by Georgian army against sleepy Tskhinval and murder of peace-keepers of Russia derailed peace resolution process and the unique peacekeeping operation.

Tskhinval, June 23, 2017

 

23.06.2017