A plan of law-making activities of the government of South Ossetia for the II half of 2013 has been approved today at a meeting of the Government of the Republic, held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of the Republic Rostislav Khugaev.
The main objective of the upcoming round of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia should be the concrete work on the text of a bilateral agreement on the non-use of force by Georgia against South Ossetia, stated the Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev after a meeting with the EU, the OSCE and the UN co-chairs of the Geneva discussions. According to him, the meeting of the co-chairs was held today in Tskhinval in preparation for the next round of negotiations in Geneva.
The co-chairs of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia promised the relatives of the missing citizens of South Ossetia to assist in arranging another meeting with the Attorney General of Georgia. This was discussed during today's meeting of the OSCE co-chair Andriy Deshitsa with mothers of Alan Khachirov, Alan Khugaev and Soltan Pliev, abducted in October 2008.
The meeting of the co-chairs of the Geneva talks with the South Ossetian delegation headed by the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev has discussed the issues of security and stability in Transcaucasia.
According to the European Union co- chair Philippe Lefort, the parties have a reason to hope for progress in some areas, while at the same time, many of the issues arouse concern, in particular, the work on the bilateral agreement on non-use of force.
"The priority issue for us is still the issue of public safety. We always look forward to the positive results," - said Lefort.
In turn, the OSCE co-chair Andriy Deshchitsa, responding to a question about the fate of the missing citizens of South Ossetia, said that the issue was constantly discussed with the Georgian colleagues and representatives of the law enforcement bodies of Georgia .
"This issue is also a recurring theme at the MPRI meetings. The relatives of the missing persons have already met with the Prosecutor General of Georgia. The investigation has been resumed and the law enforcement bodies of Georgia would like to get more information from the people who may have witnessed the abduction of Alan Khachirov, Alan Khugaev and Soltan Pliev. We are now discussing the possibility of arranging another meeting of representatives of the Attorney General of Georgia not only with the relatives of the missing persons, but also with the witnesses of those events," - said the co-chairman .
According to him, they are considering the possibility of holding the meeting in the MPRI format.
"By the next meeting of MPRI - September 16 - I will try to meet with the Georgian law enforcement agencies to obtain the information that may be disclosed. You understand that the investigation is in camera and we are not able to know all the information,"- said Deshchitsa.
However, he has noted that he is not aware of whether the names of the witnesses of these abductions are announced and whether they have been questioned by the law enforcement bodies of Georgia.
" It's the secrecy of the investigation. I do not even try to get that information. We can facilitate the investigation, but we can not to participate in it. We can meet and convince them that this is a very important issue, it affects people's lives. Of course, it is very painful to realize that we have not the exact information, but we cannot participate in the investigation. We use all the mechanisms to speed up the process, "- promised the co-chair.
At the same time, according to the UN representative Antti Turunen, one of the issues to be discussed within the framework of the Geneva discussions is the issue of the ability of the population to travel abroad, as well as the issues related to the constructions erected at the border which prevent the movement of the population.
"We also talked about arranging the information session at the next round and discussed the humanitarian issues," - said Turunen.
According to a UNHCR staff member Vincent Cochetel, it is important to find a way for all the parties to agree on the need for humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the armed conflicts who have lost their homes and live in collective centers.
He has stressed that they mean the problems both of the Ossetian and Georgian
refugees. The 25th round of talks is scheduled for November 5-6, 2013.
The delegation of South Ossetia led by President Leonid Tibilov has visited the South Ossetian villages in Bikar gorge, particularly the villages Chalisuban, Archnaret and Wilda, which have recently been electrified by the State Unitary Enterprise ( SUE ) "Energy Resources - South Ossetia" on the instruction of the head of state.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia David Sanakoev held a series of meetings in Italy, where he had arrived on a working visit on September 4, reported IA "Res" the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia.
In particular, September 4, was held a meeting of the RSO Foreign Minister with Lara Richatti - deputy party SEL.
Over the past two months, more than 70 residents of Leningor district of South Ossetia appealed to the authorities of the Republic with requests for the South Ossetian citizenship, said the journalists South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev.
According to him, the frequent requests on getting the Ossetian nationality are more related to the fact that pensions in South Ossetia are much better than in Georgia.
"If a minimum pension in South Ossetia is about 5,700 rubles, in Georgia, even at a premium, it is about four thousand. Therefore, many residents of the area who have Georgian citizenship, renounce it in order to obtain South Ossetian citizenship, as well as the appropriate social services ", - said Dzhioev.
According to him, for the last month about 30 residents of Leningor district applied to social services of South Ossetia.
"In order to obtain South Ossetian citizenship, they have to decide - whether to renounce the Georgian citizenship, otherwise, they will live in the district as the citizens of a foreign state", - he explained.
"The citizens of South Ossetia are recognized those born in its territory or being permanent residents for five years until May 29, 1992. No one has ever been forced out of here. If someone wants to keep the Georgian citizenship, they can reside in South Ossetia, having the respective rights and obligations as foreign citizens in our territory,"- said Dzhioev.
In regard to the procedure of obtaining the citizenship of South Ossetia, the envoy has explained that citizens should apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia and renounce the Georgian passport.
"Given that to date we have not any relationship with Georgia, the Foreign Ministry takes this into account and informs the relevant services of the Interior Ministry. If in the future we develop normal civilized relations with Georgia, it will be possible to negotiate a procedure of the border crossing, as well as and the residing of the Georgian citizens in South Ossetia", - said Dzhioev .
The decision of the South Ossetian government to ban on the passage of vehicles through the checkpoint of a simplified crossing of the state border with Georgia in Leningor district(village of Mosabrun ) does not infringe upon the interests of local residents, said the journalists in Leningor the South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev .
He reminded that the decision had been adopted in June 2013; it will enter into force on September 18.
The envoy noted that for 17 years Leningor and the surrounding villages had been under the Georgian occupation, and only in August 2008 it was able to restore the sovereignty of South Ossetia in this area.
"Since then, the South Ossetian authorities have been trying to create the same conditions of life for residents of Leningor district, as in other parts of the Republic, " - said Dzhioev .
To date, it is almost completely resolved the issue of road communication between Leningor and Tskhinval.
"The road from Tskhinval to Leningor takes no more than one and a half. For several years Leningor receives electricity from Tskhinval, as well as liquefied natural gas. Georgia has refused to supply Leningor with natural gas, because the Georgian authorities do not want to create the conditions for the residents Leningor, or they rather want to create such severe conditions for the residents to force them to leave this area. Therefore, with the assistance of Russia, we are trying to solve the issue of gas supply," - said Dzhioev.
He has added that given the fact that the residents of Leningor district for decades have been linked to Georgia, South Ossetian authorities have kept the simplified border crossing checkpoint in the village of Mosabrun.
"In accordance with the legislation of South Ossetia, each person, crossing the border has a right to take cargo and goods up to 50 kg. Description of goods that can be taken through the border is prescribed by the law," - said the envoy.
He has stressed that the temporary border crossing does not provide the passage of vehicles.
" But, nevertheless, given the situation in general and the needs of the local population, they were allowed to cross the border by vehicles. July 18, 2013 the government of South Ossetia adopted a resolution, according to which the checkpoint is forbidden to be crossed by car, citizens can cross the border on foot," - said Dzhioev.
He has assured that Leningor and other villages in the district will be connected with the crossing checkpoint in Mosabrun by regular transport service.
"I will not specify when the resolution comes into force, but it will be done after the regular transport service between the villages of the district and Mosabrun is established", - said the envoy.
He has also noted that the government of South Ossetia has established a special commission consisting of representatives of socio- economic agencies, which are designed to provide the residents of the district with all the necessary aid.
September 18 - it's not the end of the world. This is a procedure, which includes restricting passage through the checkpoint, without infringing upon the rights of local residents. They are still able to take goods for themselves and for their family; all the rest will be considered smuggling,"- he said.
Dzhioev has assured that the South Ossetian authorities will do everything possible not to violate the state interests of South Ossetia.
South Ossetia and Russia have agreed to start working on a bilateral agreement in the field of fishery. The need to develop aquaculture in the Republic was discussed at yesterday's meeting in Moscow between the Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery Andrei Krainiy and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation Dmitry Medoev, reports the official website of the Federal Agency for Fishery.
The ways of development and strengthening the statehood of South Ossetia have been discussed in Tskhinval during a working meeting of the expert group of the Media Center "Ir." The meeting was held in preparation for the conference "Development of the South Ossetian statehood." The meeting was attended by experts of the Media Center, representatives of social movements, parliamentarians and journalists.