South Ossetian authorities have invited Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner to visit the Republic after the negative incident in Tbilisi, press Secretary of the head of the South Ossetian President Dina Gassieva said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, protests took place in Tbilisi over the visit of Posner, who arrived in the capital of Georgia to celebrate his birthday. The protesters claim that since Posner does not recognize the country's territorial integrity, his presence is unacceptable. They surrounded the hotel building, where Posner and his friends stayed, and later the guests were transferred to the Romms hotel in the center of Tbilisi. Protesters threw eggs at the facade of the building, demanding that Posner and his comrades leave the country.
"I would not like the scandal in Tbilisi to negatively affect the image of the hospitable Caucasus as a whole. South Ossetia is happy to invite Vladimir Vladimirovich to celebrate a holiday or just spend time in the Republic," she said.
According to Gassieva, in South Ossetia, the ugly incident associated with the arrival of Vladimir Pozner in Tbilisi did not cause any surprise at all.
"Georgian hospitality, advertised in the world, has long shown its true face - it is not the first time that tourists are in danger in Georgia. And first of all, this applies to visitors from Russia," she noted, adding that "the leadership and people of South Ossetia will be very glad to receive the esteemed TV presenter and journalist. "
Pozner himself said on Wednesday evening that he had arrived in Tbilisi to celebrate his birthday and was going to return on April 3. On Thursday, Pozner told RIA Novosti that he was already in Moscow and that he had not been fined in Georgia. Later, the Georgian Interior Ministry announced that Pozner and his friends had paid a fine of 2,000 lari (about $ 600) for violating quarantine.
