Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia Dmitrii Medoev spoke in an interview to the Information Agency «Res» about the current situation in Ukraine and possible provocations in South Ossetia.
-How do you assess the situation that is developing in Ukraine, how can a development of events threaten other countries, in particular, South Ossetia?
-South Ossetia is closely and with undisguised concern watching the growing acute military-political tension around Ukraine, created by Western countries led by their American curators. The fact that the authors of this dangerous undertaking are not at all interested in the real consequences for the citizens of Ukraine is clear from the very beginning of these provocations. They are not taken into account – real goals are much more interesting.
However, this applies not only to Ukraine, but also to neighboring countries, and not only European, but non-regional, located far from Eastern Europe.
-What do you have in mind?
I am referring to the South Caucasus and the NATO “graduate student” country Georgia. Excited by the US-NATO militaristic attitudes and also driven by revanchist sentiments, the Georgian hawks are ready to offer the Euro-Atlantic coalition to use the territory of their country to activate the anti-Russian hotbed of tension on its southern borders. The goals and objectives are clear, firstly, it is practical solidarity with the Ukrainian regime before the so-called “Russian invasion”, and along the way, under the wing of NATO, to solve its own territorial problems that Georgia has with all the countries surrounding it.
-What can be expected from the implementation of such a scenario?
In the event of such a development, any destabilization of the situation around South Ossetia will play into the hands of Georgia and its external administrators. Here we must take into account an important circumstance – in April of this year the Republic is preparing to hold presidential elections. It must be assumed that not only South Ossetia is preparing for them.
Based on this, I do not exclude at all that the forces hostile to us can launch a military escalation, perhaps even with an attempt at full-scale military aggression. The Georgian side has always striven for this and has never hidden it, it is enough to recall the pace of modernization of the armed forces and the endless military exercises with the participation of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
-Does this not mean the formation of a dangerous circle around Russia?
In fact, this would mean for Moscow the activation of the old front, seemingly forgotten in 2008, directed against Russia from the south. The Georgian propaganda machine has already been launched to provide informational support for this “project”. Against the backdrop of increased Russophobia many times over, local media are actively preparing the Georgian society for the military solution of territorial problems without alternative, openly calling on the authorities to act according to the Azerbaijan-Turkish scenario implemented in Nagorno-Karabakh. They say that time heals. But that is clearly not the case here.
-What is the result?
As a result, and in particular, someone really wants to build up pressure and create discomfort along the entire perimeter of the Russian borders, including the zone of joint responsibility of Russian and South Ossetian border guards on the Ossetian-Georgian border. Quite recently, such an attempt failed in Kazakhstan, and we once again made sure that these scenarios are managed from one center.
There can be only one conclusion – this dangerous provocation can seriously threaten not only internal stability in South Ossetia, but also significantly undermine the regional balance and international security as a whole.
I’m sure this scenario is not feasible.