Answers of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RSO

In respect of the speech of M. Saakashvili at winter session of PACE

The speech of the President Saakashvili was at the session of Parliamentary Assembly was of course tendentious and biased to South Ossetia and Russian Federation. We have not heard anything new from the president of Georgia. He had the same rhetorics as before, which is also followed by the Government of Georgia for many years and the culmination of which was the military aggression in August 2008.

In connection with the Decree of RSO President of Consular agency establishment

In connection with necessity to improve the grade of consular services for the citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia at the territory of Russian Federation by Decree of RSO President Leonid Tibilov was established a Consular agency of the Republic of South Ossetia in Vladikavkaz.

The media continues to discuss the article from the newspaper "Izvestia" published on 14 August 2012. It reported that allegedly to the order of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia L.Kh. Tibilov "several Georgian villages located to the north of the capital of the Republic will be taken down” in South Ossetia. Current and former Georgian politicians are concerned about this article as well as some representatives of international organizations, including the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Mr. Vollebaek.

- How do you assess the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to your appointment? Which areas in the department you wish to strengthen and what measures you are going to do about it?

-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has done a great job over the years. I think that all necessary actions have been carried out at each stage by the Foreign Ministry.

Georgian mass media has started again to bring up the question of delivering of so-called neutral passports to the residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Georgian authorities these days. It has been reported about extremely negative reaction of Abkhazian authorities to the attempts of some international organizations working in Abkhazia to distribute these passports among the residents of Abkhazia. The reporter of ‘RES’ Agency asked the Republic of South Ossetia Minister for Foreign Affairs Murat Jioev to comment the problem of ‘neutral’ passports.

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.

Question. Joint NATO-Georgia conference is being held in Tbilisi. The main subject of the conference is joint plans of Georgia with North-Atlantic Alliance. In your opinion what such a close collaboration of NATO and Georgia can result in?

A number of bilateral agreements between the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation were concluded. What is their effect?

Tomorrow on 28 May by tradition South Ossetia Diplomacy Day is marked in the Republic of South Ossetia. The appearance of this remarkable day is connected with the fact that on 28 May 1992 the first Government of the RSO was formed at the session of Supreme Soviet of the Republic of South Ossetia. And the Ministry of Foreign Relationships was a part of it. The Ministry of Foreign Relationships was a prototype of present-day Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By tradition we have been marking South Ossetia Diplomacy Day since then.

Question: There is information on ‘Wikileakes’ site confirming that it was President of Georgia M. Saakashvily who unleashed hostilities in August 2008. But at the same time the authorities of Georgia keep on accusing Russia of military aggression against Georgia and consider South Ossetia to be an occupied territory. Your commentary.