December 4 saw another statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made in Brussels that Russia should end its recognition of the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia and withdraw its forces “from these regions of Georgia”.
The consolidated position of NATO members regarding South Ossetia and Abkhazia is well known, and similar calls, accompanying traditional statements on support for Georgia in its aspiration to join NATO, have long ago turned into a necessary ritual.
Nevertheless, one should again remind that establishment of interstate relations between South Ossetia and Russia was carried out in full compliance with the principles and norms of international legislation.
We in the Republic of South Ossetia, taking into consideration the present realities, in particular, the existence of an aggressive, non-negotiable neighboring state, which suffers unstable domestic policy and consistently is making territorial claims against other states, consider the military presence of the Russian Federation as the main and decisive condition for ensuring our security against relapses of Georgian aggression. This military presence is also carried out on the basis of bilateral interstate agreements and fully meets the international legislation.
In this situation Mr. Stoltenberg should have urged Georgia to recognize its responsibility for the breakdown of the regional security structure, which based on international agreements, for the large-scale military campaign against South Ossetia unleashed in August 2008 and for the attempt to exterminate the Ossetian nation.
However, we see instead of that the desire to drag Georgia into NATO at any cost and to provide it with the possibility to embark on revanchist military adventures against neighboring states.
In the conditions of on-going refusal of Georgia to sign an agreement on non-use of force and rejection of its authorities to give up attempts to translate the political consequences of their own aggression and incompetent policy towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia into the Georgian-Russian relations, South Ossetia reserves the right to ensure its security and strengthen further the joint defense area with the Russian Federation.
Tskhinval, December 6, 2018