Comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia with respect to the statement adopted at the NATO Summit in Chicago
In a statement issued after the NATO Summit in Chicago May 21, 2012, member countries of NATO, supporting Georgia's aspirations to join the Alliance, appealed to Russia to "abolish the recognition of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states and to reduce the Russian military presence in these regions.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia has stated that this document, which was evidently adjusted to the Georgian audience, has a deliberately biased orientation. It is known that South Ossetia is not a "region of Georgia," and only through the intervention of Russia in August 2008 the people of South Ossetia were rescued from total annihilation during the perfidious military aggression of Georgia against South Ossetia. For nearly four years, the security of South Ossetia is guaranteed by the Russian Federation on the basis of the bilateral agreements. South Ossetian people express boundless gratitude to the Russian Federation, but it is obvious, that the summit participants are little interested in the people's opinion.
If the Alliance is seriously interested in stabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus, the corresponding work with regard to Saakashvili's regime, namely, the signing of the document on the nonuse of force by Georgia against South Ossetia, undoubtedly, would be useful. The military aggression in August 2008 would have not taken place without the help and support of the Allies. It is time for all to act within the prevailing contemporary realities, and they are such that, the two new states emerged on the map of the South Caucasus in accordance with all the international standards - the Republic of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Those who are freely treating the international law must once again think twice before stepping on a slippery slope that can lead to unpredictable consequences, will not add stability to the region and will provoke new round of tension.
Tskhinval, May 24, 2012
