The statement of Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani pertaining to the measures undertaken by the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia in relation to issues of several civilians from village Tshnelis, who as a result of demarcation found themselves beyond the South Ossetian borders, wasn’t left without attention in Tskhinval.
One cannot name the distorted perception of the picture of the world otherwise than oneiric, when fragments of the real world are mixed with fantastic images.
In framework of the Geneva Discussions South Ossetia has multiple times officially called for Georgia to conduct delimitation and demarcation works along the state border, and reaffirmed readiness to discuss any kinds of issues, related to the entire length of the state border with Georgia. However, there is no understanding from the Georgian side for the time being. In this situation South Ossetia has to develop the state border infrastructure itself, as the security of citizens of our state depends on this fact, and whatever claims by the authorities of Georgia are groundless.
For the time being the Republic of South Ossetia has found itself approximately in those boundaries, which had the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast at the time of its establishment in 1922. In fact the territory of South Ossetia is much bigger, and it sounds absurd to speak about annexation of new territories.
It’s much more appropriate and necessary to speak about annexation of the Eastern Ossetia (gorges Tyrsygom, Kudycom and the Kob hollow) by Soviet Georgia. Those territories had been illegally, without the will of the Ossetians being expressed, detached by the Bolsheviks in favor of the newly founded GSSR. Places of compact settlement of the Ossetians in neighboring Dusheti region of Georgia have also found themselves outside of Ossetia. Having appeared beyond the borders of the autonomy and later the state of South Ossetia, the Eastern Ossetia became an easy mark for Georgian expansion. For the time being the Motherland is an inaccessible foreign country for natives of those places. People were deprived of the right to property, freedom of movement, freedom of religion and commission of religious practices. Without any doubt, the Ossetians will never recognize the legitimacy of the decisions undertaken by the Bolsheviks in 1921 contrary to international legislation.
The Republic of South Ossetia neither has claims to the territory of Georgia nor is going to donate its own lands. Legally and politically these borders are not the same. One of fundamental features of modern reality is the possibility of a state to determine its destiny itself in accordance with its own understanding of national interests. Whether they in Georgia want it or not, our sovereign state is recognized, and we determine our border policy independently.
June 26, 2018, Tskhinval