The hour of memory and sorrow "Just Not to Forget ..." is taking place on Saturday evening at the Gergiev Stairs, where in August 2008 the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted a requiem concert under the direction of Valery Gergiev on the ruins of the country's parliament building. Since then, a memorial event is held here annually.
Trade turnover for the first half of 2021 between South Ossetia and Abkhazia has doubled compared to the entire period of 2020, President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania said at the press conference in Tskhinval.
“If we maintain such rates, then by the end of the year the trade turnover will quadruple,” he said.
President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov, in turn, has noted that the increase in trade between the two countries directly depends on the implementation of the plans that were discussed with the leader of Abkhazia.
Presidents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia Anatoly Bibilov and Aslan Bzhania at the joint press conference in Tskhinval commented on the statement of a number of Western countries, which demanded that Russia "immediately withdraw its armed and security forces, as well as cancel the recognition of the independence" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
According to Bzhania, such calls have nothing to do with the actual situation, "they are aimed not at solving the problem, but exacerbating it."
The scenario of a military solution to the issue of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has not left the political agenda of NATO and Georgia, President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania told reporters in Tskhival, commenting on the exercises conducted in neighboring Georgia with the participation of these countries.
“We will also draw appropriate conclusions. I would like everything to be in a peaceful way, but here they do not give a choice.
The issue of recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is already an irreversible process, the head of the South Ossetian state Anatoly Bibilov said at the press conference in Tskhinval.
President Anatoly Bibilov met with the head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Sergei Menyailo, who arrived in South Ossetia to participate in commemorative events dedicated to the 13th anniversary of Georgia's military aggression against the Republic of South Ossetia.
The head of state reminded of the events of August 8 and Georgia's treacherous attack on sleeping Tskhinval, which claimed the lives of many civilians.
In Tskhinval, a summit meeting was held between President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov and President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania. Anatoly Bibilov in his welcoming speech has noted that peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are linked by centuries-old friendship.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude for visiting the Republic on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Georgian aggression, this is a tragic date for us, and the fact that friends come to support us on this day is worth a lot,” the President said.
On Thursday, artists of the world-renowned twice Red Banner A.V. Alexandrov Academic Song and Dance Group of the Russian Army. performed in South Ossetia with a concert-requiem "Let the memory candle burn."
The concert was dedicated to the next anniversary of the August 2008 war. More than 28 numbers were presented on the stage. The performance began with the famous song "Cranes". During the performance of the song, candles and a carnation symbol of memory and sorrow were brought to the stage.
In South Ossetia, commemorative events began in the morning, timed to coincide with the 13th anniversary of Georgia's attack on sleeping Tskhinval in 2008. The events began with the laying of wreaths at the chapel in the courtyard of the secondary school No. 5 in Tskhinval, where the victims of the Georgian aggression are buried.