On the statement of President of Georgia`s Press-Speaker Manana Mandjgaladze
President of Georgia`s Press-Speaker Manana Mandjgaladze announced that restoration of diplomatic ties between Georgia and Russia would only take place after closing of ‘embassies illegally opened’ in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The reporter of News Agency ‘PEC’ asked Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia Murat Dzhioev to give comments on this statement.
The state of Russian-Georgian relations is, surely, the affair of two countries and I would not allow myself to comment anything in this sphere, if official representative of Georgian authorities did not interfere in interrelations of sovereign states – the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia.
Indeed, diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia were broken off after barbaric armed aggression of Georgia against South Ossetia in August 2008, the victims of which were innocent people, mainly Russian citizens, and Russian peacekeepers. When Russia had enforced the aggressor to peace, ‘aggrieved’ Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with it.
Russia has established diplomatic relations with the Republic of South Ossetia after its recognition and now the embassies work efficiently in the capitals Moscow and Tskhinval functioning in accordance with the legislation of the two countries, corresponding bilateral agreements and international law specifically Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Intercourse of 1961. So, above mentioned Georgian statement is an illegal interference into the affairs of other countries, and restoration of diplomatic ties between Georgia and Russia cannot be bound to functioning of the Russian Federation Embassy in the Republic of South Ossetia.
Besides, in spite of the fact that in the report of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission of EU on the events of August 2008, Georgia is directly considered responsible for the aggression against South Ossetia (and this opinion is supported by many international experts), its authorities do not assume their responsibility and instead of penance and attempts to make amends they exhibit claims and terms. Unfortunately, some Western countries support them in that. Such position of Georgian authorities and their patrons interrupts the progress at Geneva talks on the safety in Transcaucasia.
Tskhinval, 27 of January 2012