In 2022, in accordance with the tasks designated by the leadership of the state and in line with the legislation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued its work to defend and promote the national interests of South Ossetia, to strengthen and develop the mutually beneficial cooperation with the states with which South Ossetia had established diplomatic relations, as well as to expand international contacts. The Ministry participated in preparation, organization and implementation of visits of foreign delegations to the Republic of South Ossetia and visits of South Ossetian delegations to foreign states, conducted consular work to resolve problems of South Ossetian citizen abroad.
Internal political events
Spring 2022 saw an important political event for the Republic – presidential elections. Polling stations for the citizens of the Republic who live abroad were opened in foreign agencies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia. International observers from Russia, Austria, Venezuela, Italy, Syria, Turkey etc arrived in South Ossetia with monitoring mission, which without any doubt gave more legitimacy to the political process.
Year 2022 marked a range of anniversaries: the 30th anniversary of historical events – the First Referendum on the Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and the adoption of the Act of the Proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia, entry of peacekeeping contingent to the area of Georgian-Ossetian conflict on the basis of the Agreement on the principles of the settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict and the centenary of the South-Ossetia Autonomous Oblast.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast the Ministry published the Appeal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia to foreign governments on the occasion of the centenary of the Ossetian genocide on 12 languages.
In 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia has celebrated its 30th anniversary. Over these years, the Ministry has firmly been defending interests of the state and the people in diplomatic area, making significant contribution to maintaining peace and stability in the region, promoting further strengthening of the independence of the state. By the 30th anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uniform and insignia for acting Ossetian diplomats, as well as the emblem and the flag of the Ministry had been designed and approved.
Unfortunately there were sad events as well – the third Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia, Candidate of Historical Sciences, professor, senior researcher at the Z. Vaneev Research Institute, holder of the state award named after K. Khetagurov, Head of the Department of History of Ossetia and Caucasian Studies of South Ossetian State University Yuriy Sergeevich Gagloity passed away.
External threat
The unsettled relationship with Georgia and its unwillingness to sign a legally binding document on non-use of force remains the main external threat to national security of South Ossetia as well as to the entire region. NATO enlargement in the territory of Georgia, ongoing build-up of Georgian military potential, large-scale military trainings with participation of foreign troops in close vicinity to state borders of South Ossetia, which pose a threat to regional stability and security, as well as provocative calls from Ukraine and certain western states to open the second front in South Ossetia and Abkhazia against Russia, that could push Georgian leadership to steps fraught with unpredictable consequences cause serious concerns. In this regard, the Ministry has made numerous statements and comments.
Russia
Further development and strengthening ties with Russia is one of the priorities of the South Ossetian foreign policy. South Ossetian-Russian relations have solid legal basis, which accounts more than 130 agreements, treaties, protocols of interstate, intergovernenmental and interdepartmental level that cover almost all areas of interaction. However, the work on strengthening the legislative framework continues.
Russia supports South Ossetian formation as a sovereign democratic state, contributes to reliable maintenance of security, social and economic development (in framework of the Investment program). August 4, 2022 saw signing of the Agreement between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation on assistance in implementation of state program for social and economic development of the Republic of South Ossetia for 2022-2025.
On June 15, negotiations between the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Alan Gagloev and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov were held in Moscow. The irreversible commitment to the principles of equality and mutual respect was reiterated and firm aspiration to strengthen the allied South Ossetian-Russian relations was emphasized.
On August 4 and December 28, in Moscow, Alan Gagloev, the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, met with Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office. Relevant issues of the bilateral South Ossetian-Russian cooperation were discussed during the meeting.
On November 29, a meeting of Alan Gagloev, the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, and Sergey Aksenov, the Head of the Republic of Crimea, was held in Simferopol. The parties discussed relevant issues of cooperation between South Ossetia and the Republic of Crimea.
On November 1, in Moscow, Akhsar Dzhioev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia, met with Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The negotiations were held in an atmosphere of openness, friendship and mutual understanding. Foreign Ministries of South Ossetia and Russia have established close contacts, the interaction is carried out in accordance with the signed “Plan of consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for 2021-2022”.
On December 15-17, the delegation of South Ossetia, headed by Prime Minister Konstantin Dzhussoev, went to Crimea on a working visit, where met with the authorities of the Republic of Crimea. The parties agreed on conducting work in framework of the Agreement between South Ossetia and Crimea dated April 2019 and discussed the main provisions of the Plan of events for 2023-2025, which stipulates development of cooperation in such areas as trade and economy, sport, tourism, education, culture as well as processing industry and agriculture.
Close interparliamentary cooperation continues. On December 15, a meeting was held in Moscow between the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia Alan Alborov and the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, at which, among other things, the creation of a high-level commission between the parliaments of the two states and the development of interaction within relevant committees were discussed. Alongside with this, delegates from the Parliament of South Ossetia participated in the work of the 63rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia as permanent observers.
Another meeting of the Commission for Cooperation between the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Federation Council of Russia was held on May 23, in Moscow. On November 18, a meeting of Joint Commission for Interparliamentary Cooperation of the Parliament of South Ossetia and the Federation Council of Russia was held in Tskhinval.
On May 28, the President of Russia signed the federal law on the ratification of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia on the settlement of issues of dual citizenship. The federal law was ratified by the State Duma on May 19, 2022 and approved by the Federation Council on May 25, 2022 (on December 1, 2021 the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia ratified the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia on the settlement of issues of dual citizenship).
The Agreement signed on September 20, 2021 in Tskhinval provides that citizens of one party can apply citizenship of the other party without refusal of the existing citizenship. In accordance with the Agreement, citizens who received double citizenship would have the right for social care, education, medical care, in accordance with the legislation of the state of permanent residence. This provision is also applied to military service. The Agreement will enter into force on the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification.
On September 27-29, the 7th meeting of the Joint South Ossetian Russian Demarcation Commission was held in Vladikavkaz. The progress of international legal registration of the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation was discussed during the meeting and the Plan of events for 2023 was developed and adopted.
On August 27-29, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia participated in the 5th Global Forum of Young Diplomats, organized by the Council of Young Diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Kazan.
Leading higher diplomatic universities of Russia (MGIMO (U) and DA MFA) annually assist South Ossetia in training international specialists and in professional training of diplomatic staff of the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry.
DPR, LPR
In February 2022, the Republic of South Ossetia expressed its strong support for the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics and to conduct the special military operation to protect the residents of Donbass from the acting nationalist Kiev regime. Later the Republic supported the entry of the DPR and the LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Russian Federation. It should be emphasized that soldiers from South Ossetia also participate actively in the special military operation. South Ossetia sends humanitarian aid to Donbass and hosts refugees from the Republics of Donbass on regular basis.
In November, the South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev visited region of the operation in order to support warriors from Ossetia. He met with servicemen from the 4th military base and volunteers from South Ossetia and handed them technical equipment, uniforms and humanitarian aid.
In May, delegations from the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic arrived in Tskhinval to participate in the inauguration of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, in August – for the Day of the Recognition of the Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia by the Russian Federation and in September – to participate in the festivities, dedicated to the 32nd Anniversary of Proclamation of the Republic of South Ossetia.
Abkhazia, Pridnestrovie, Artsakh
The work on strengthening ties with fraternal republics – the Republic of Abkhazia, the Pridnestrivian Moldavian Republic and the Republic of Artsakh continues.
In this regard the meeting of the South Ossetian Foreign Minister Akhsar Dzhioev and the Abkhaz Foreign Minister Inal Ardzinba, which was held on November 8 in Moscow, should be noted. The parties agreed to continue contacts through the foreign departments in order to coordinate further activities on regular basis.
Earlier, on March 10, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia Dmitrii Medoev went on a working visit to the Republic of Abkhazia, where met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia Inal Ardzinba and signed a Joint Communiqué on the results of the meeting.
On September 19, in order to deepen the interaction, the Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Abkhazia was signed.
In April, the Ministry strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on a number of public facilities in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which resulted in destructions, and expressed solidarity with the Government and the people of Pridnestrovie.
In 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic celebrated the 30th anniversary and in this regard a congratulatory letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was sent on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia.
In May, a delegation from the Republic of Artsakh, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs David Babayan, arrived in Tskhinval to participate in the inauguration of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia. In framework of the visit, Minister Babayan visited the South Ossetian State University named after A. A. Tibilov, where met with students and the stuff of the Department of Political Science and Sociology.
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu
South Ossetia has been recognized by a number of significantly distant states (Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu), so that it is complicated to develop cooperation with them actively. However, systematic work at the level of diplomacy and cultural ties has been carried out.
Among recent events one can name the visit of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Republic of South Ossetia Jesús Rafael Salazar Velásquez, who, on November 3, presented credentials to the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Alan Gagloev and copies of credentials to the First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of South Ossetia Andrey Tskhovrebov.
In framework of the visit, Ambassador Velásquez met with Vadim Tedeev, rector of the South Ossetian State University, and discussed the possibility of signing an agreement on cooperation with leading classic universities of Venezuela.
On May 24, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Nicaragua to the Republic of South Ossetia Alba Azucena Torres Mejia arrived in Tskhinval to participate in the inauguration of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia.
Syria
Year 2022 marked the 4th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Syrian Arab Republic.
Consultations on the opening of South Ossetian embassy in Damascus and Syrian diplomatic representation office in Tskhinval have been held.
Mechanism of four-sided consultations between Foreign Ministries of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of South Ossetia, the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic is under formation.
Extension of international contacts
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued its work on expansion of the number of friendly states, development of contacts, organizing meetings at various levels.
Representatives of the Ministry work in different states, where they find understanding and support for the interests of the Republic of South Ossetia among various political circles of these states. Cooperation with diasporas is also very important. The Ministry continues its work on further improvement of the achieved results in this area.
By order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated January 10, 2022, a citizen of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Turkey Hosity Burhan (Canpolat Burhan) was appointed as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in the Republic of Turkey.
Earlier, Remzi Kanukati (Remzi Yildirim), who had passed untimely in December 2020, was the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in the Republic of Turkey
On April 12, upon an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia, a solemn opening of a memorial plaque to Remzi Kanukati, who led the Ossetian diaspora in Turkey for many years, took place in the square at Vladimir Putin Street.
In September, upon an invitation from the Association of victims of terrorist attacks “Mothers of Beslan” as well as with help of the Representation Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy, a delegation, consisting of Mauro Murgia, the Representative of the South Ossetian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy, Monica Moroni, a flutist from San Marino, and Luca Pingitore, a journalist, expert on the Caucasus, participated in the commemorative events, dedicated to the 18th anniversary of the Beslan tragedy.
In framework of the visit Monica Moroni gave several concerts, including a performance in the Beslan’s school yard in memory of victims of the bloody tragedy and met with students and teachers of Vladikavkaz Colleage of Arts, named after Valerii Gergiev. The Italian delegation visited South Ossetia as well.
In 2022, jubilee festivities “10 years of the Days of Ossetian culture in Europe” were organized by Radion Pukhaev, Chairman of the International Association “Renaissance Sandidzan”, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia in the Benelux countries. The anniversary events included exhibition of Ossetian artists “Inspiration”.
The GID
An important part of the work conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is participation in the Geneva International Discussions for Security and Stability in Transcaucasia. The main objective of the Discussions is signing a legally binding document on non use of force by Georgia, which would provide strong guarantees for security in the region and would exclude the possibility of resumption of hostilities.
On October 5, the first meeting of the GID participants in 2022 was held in Geneva, since the conduction of meetings was postponed for uncertain period following the decision undertaken by the Co-Chairs. (In 2022, the Co-Chairs of the Discussions representing the EU, the OSCE and the UN decided not to return to the earlier established working format, thus, there was held only one round of the Discussions instead of four).
The South Ossetian party numerous times has emphasized that the GID remains the only platform for conducting discussions on arising issues and threats, and long-term freeze could negatively affect the stability and security in the region.