Statement by the Minister of Defence of Georgia Mr. Alasania has expressed the same position declared by the Georgian authorities for several years, that Tbilisi is ready to sign a document on non-use of force, if Russia signs it, too.
This has been reported IA "Res" by Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev.
It should be noted that in an interview with BBC the Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Alasania has declared that Tbilisi is ready to sign a declaration of non-use of force, if Russia does the same.
"We are ready to sign the declaration, but it should be adequate to the reality, and the reality is that Russia has been occupying our territory, so it should be the part of our declaration," – underlined Alasania.
According to the Envoy, Alasania has said nothing new, and his statements of the relationship with the Ossetians and Abkhazians, as well as the Geneva process are also contradictory.
"The fact is that the war in August 2008 was between Georgia and South Ossetia. Georgian military forces treacherously invaded South Ossetia a few hours later Saakashvili`s emphatic assurances that he would never use force against the Ossetians. The fact that Georgia had unleashed the war was recognized by the independent EU commission, it was also confirmed by the current Prime Minister of Georgia Ivanishvili, addressing to the parliament in October 2012. Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia is the established fact, and Russia came to defend the people of South Ossetia and the Russian citizens in South Ossetia, including the Russian peacekeepers "- reminded Dzhioev.
The envoy has said that it is perfectly logical and understandable that the document on the non-use of force should be signed between Georgia and South Ossetia, and, in particular, Georgia must give legally binding guarantees on the non-use of force against South Ossetia.
With regard to relations between Georgia and Russia, this is a matter of these countries and should not be linked to the Georgian-South Ossetian relations.
"However, Saakashvili and his entourage, as well as the current Georgian authorities pretend that a state of the Republic of South Ossetia does not exist in the world, refusing to recognize the realities. South Ossetia was formed under the same legal framework and regulations as Georgia, and does not have any relation to the territory and the "territorial integrity" of Georgia, and the Russian presence in South Ossetia is under the bilateral agreements and cannot be regarded as "the occupation of the Georgian territory" " - emphasized Dzhioev.
He added that speaking of a legally binding instrument on security in our region one should keep in mind the document between Georgia and South Ossetia.
As for the unilateral declaration of Saakashvili, the envoy has underlined that South Ossetians are well aware of the price of his assurances.
Dzhioev added that South Ossetia was not mentioned in this statement.
He has reminded that the main purpose of the Geneva talks is to prepare legally binding agreements and the development of solid security guarantees for Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
But, in his opinion, the fact that declarations and statements of the Georgian authorities (both yesterday's and today's) of the commitment to the Geneva process are at odds with reality.
"If they had really perceived the Geneva process, neither the Georgian authorities, nor their supporters in the West would not have used the term "occupied territories" in relation to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as the discussion of the admissibility of this concept to our two sovereign states at the Geneva talks with the invited EU experts clearly showed that this concept should not be applied to this situation, "- concluded Dzhioev.
