The question of accession of South Ossetia today is not on the foreign policy agenda of Russia. This was stated in an interview with TASS by Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Elbrus Kargiev.
According to him, the referendum, which may be held by the decision of the Republican authorities - "is absolutely domestic affair." "Therefore, we, of course, refrain from comments and appraisals," - said the ambassador.
The question of the real accession of South Ossetia to Russia "is is a two-way process." "This question is not today on the agenda of our foreign policy, - said Kargiev. Our position is that we recognized South Ossetia as an independent sovereign state in 2008".
Earlier it has been reported that in 2017 in South Ossetia may be held a referendum on the accession of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation. The question of changing the constitution of South Ossetia may be put to the vote, which will allow in the future to appeal to the leadership of Russia with a request for accession.
Elbrus Kargiev has stressed that the signing of additional agreements to the Treaty of Alliance and Integration between South Ossetia and Russia can be expected in the coming weeks.
According to him, recently in Tskhinval representatives of the relevant Russian and South Ossetian authorities have discussed this question.
"As we have been assured by representatives of the partner organizations of the two countries, we are no longer talking about months, but weeks, - he said -. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the signing in the near future."
According to Kargiev, it is expected that there will be prescribed that certain South Ossetian servicemen will be taken into service, particularly in the 4 th military base stationed in the Republic. Part of the South Ossetian servicemen will remain at the Defense Ministry of the Republic and will form the basis of the South Ossetian army, which will also be preserved.
According to the diplomat, the issues related to the format of service of the South Ossetian servicemen will be described in detail in the relevant agreement.
"So today it is difficult to speak on the specific parameters - he said -. When it is signed, then it will be easier to comment on."
At the same time, the ambassador has noted that a small group of South Ossetian servicemen has already been presented at the 4th military base of the Russian Federation.
"I can say that at the fourth military base was formed a special unit of the residents of South Ossetia, which have Russian citizenship and the percentage of such residents is high, - said Kargiev. A supplementary agreement provides for that the interconnection between the two law enforcement agencies will be arranged on a new basis, despite the fact that the Defense Ministry of South Ossetia will be functioning. "
March 18, 2015 the presidents of Russia and South Ossetia signed the Treaty of Alliance and the Integration for 25 years with the possibility of extension. The document provides for the formation of the defense and security common space, free crossing of the border and other aspects of integration. The Treaty is the basis for the gradual establishment of closer cooperation between Russia and South Ossetia in socio- economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as in matters of foreign policy, defense and security, while maintaining the state sovereignty of the Republic.
The population of South Ossetia is grateful to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for its work on mine clearing.
The Ambassador has reminded that the current program is designed for two and a half months. The parties have chosen the area, where there were the most active hostilities.
"The problem is that undermining in those difficult, troubled years was haphazard, unplanned, and this fact impedes the work of our specialists, who arrived in South Ossetia", - the diplomat said.
The Ambassador pointed out that it "is not a comprehensive program - to demine the whole territory. There are not simply efforts or resources and, most importantly, there is no understanding how to solve the problem technically." "But we will demine the most dense areas and thereby we will significantly improve the situation", - added Kargiev.
The specialists of Russian EMERCOM have started demining the territory of South Ossetia on June 7.
