On June 29, 2012 the Interior Ministry of Georgia relocated a police station a few hundred meters closer to the state border of South Ossetia in the village Zardiantkari (Georgia), which is located opposite the South Ossetian village of Khelchua. This caused great tension among the people of Ossetian nationality living in these villages.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia is troubled about the desire of Georgian side to destabilize the situation in the immediate vicinity of the border at any price. Georgia's military build-up, aggressive rhetoric of its leadership towards South Ossetia, and constant provocations on the border territory show that Georgian authorities continue to focus on deliberate escalation of the situation and they are hatching out revenge plans.
There are serious objections to the European Union Observer Mission, as the territory of the village is located in the area of their responsibility, and they are called to ensure the security of South Ossetia from the Georgian side. It is clear that police post was put up near the state border illegally with the connivance of the Observer Mission.
The South Ossetian side has repeatedly called on Georgia to address the issues of delimitation and demarcation of the border, which would further allow providing solid security guarantees to the population of border areas, but the Georgian government deliberately eludes cooperation.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia considers that only the transfer of the Georgian police post to the original location can protect local people from the recurrence of the tension, and also warns the Georgian against continuing the reckless actions, which could certainly lead to another escalation of the situation in the region.
Tskhinval, July 2, 2012