In the event of further escalation of tension and complication of the situation, all appropriate countermeasures will be taken to protect the territorial integrity of the Republic
South Ossetia addressed the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, as well as the co-chairs of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia with a warning about the real danger of a new armed confrontation, the Republic’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday night.
South Ossetian foreign Ministry expresses serious concern about the steps taken by Georgia towards the Republic, accompanied by the growing presence of Georgian security forces along the entire perimeter of the state border.
"So, in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings in the village of Tsnelis, Znaur district of the Republic, Georgian armed forces, having plunged into the territory of South Ossetia, are providing force cover for the illegal construction of fortified military facilities and engineering communications. Given the scale of the work, it is absolutely obvious that this provocation was prepared in advance ", - says the statement of the Foreign Ministry, published on the official website of the department.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted that Tskhinval regards these actions as deliberate and demonstrative escalation of the situation in the border territories, "fraught with serious destabilization of the situation not only in the territories of South Ossetia bordering Georgia, but also in the region as a whole."
"We consider it necessary to remind that armed aggression in August 2008 was also preceded by the construction by the Georgian side of the military fortifications along the entire perimeter of the territory of South Ossetia, accompanied by silencing by the OSCE observers of Georgia’s military preparations," the statement said. Unfortunately, this attitude to the current situation is also being demonstrates by the EU Observer Mission in Georgia. "
Ministry of Foreign Affairs regards the actions of Georgia as an expression of a direct threat to the people of South Ossetia and states that in the event of further escalation of tension and complication of the situation, all appropriate countermeasures will be taken to protect the territorial integrity of the Republic of South Ossetia and ensure the safety of its citizens.
"In this regard, South Ossetia appeals to the EU observer Mission in Georgia, as well as to the co-chairs of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia with a warning about the real danger of a new armed confrontation and further escalation of the situation and calls on all participants in the process of the Georgian - Ossetian settlement to exert appropriate pressure on the Georgian side in order to stop further provoking tension," the foreign Ministry said.
South Ossetia resolutely demands the immediate withdrawal of all armed groups of Georgia and the cessation of illegal construction works.
