Foreign Minister Dmitry Medoev: “The act of recognition is irrevocable”
On the eve of the next anniversary of the “August War” in 2008, seven Western countries demanded that the Russian Federation “withdraw “Recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both republics remain only “partially recognized”: almost no one except the Russian Federation has known them. Is it possible that Moscow will succumb to pressure and “merge” its Transcaucasian protégés? We talked about this with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia, Dmitry Medoev.
Republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. 2008 Photo: Mikhail Kovalev
– In South Ossetia, it did not go unnoticed that this statement was timed to mark the 13th anniversary of the Georgian August aggression against our republic. He is purely populist and no one can take him seriously. This is not the first time such talks have been made, and they are usually accompanied by demagogic discourses on territorial integrity, regional security, human rights, refugees and fundamental democratic values …
In a strange way, these Georgian American ultimatums are supported by countries that are very far from regional problems.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country commented on this matter, where we reminded Georgia and its friends that the recognition of the state sovereignty of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation took place only after Georgia's armed aggression against South Ossetia in August 2008, when Georgia launched a large-scale military operation using weapons of mass destruction to destroy civilians and Russian peacekeepers.
With regard to the recognition of the state independence of the Republic of South Ossetia, it is high time that all friends of Georgia know that this act is irrevocable, as such important decisions are based on in-depth analysis and serious arguments clearly verified in accordance with international law.
– On August 6, the official visit of the President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhanie, to South Ossetia actually begins. This is his first visit to the head of the Abkhaz state. The main purpose of this visit is the participation of the high Abkhaz delegation in mourning events, which will take place here on 7-8. August. Of course, there will be high-level meetings and meetings of the members of the delegation with their South Ossetian colleagues. Bilateral relations between South Ossetia and Abkhazia have a long history, positive dynamics and are fraternal.
– In South Ossetia, there is a special commission under the presidency, where citizens who want to obtain South Ossetian citizenship apply, and there are also relevant laws and regulations that respect human rights in this important matter. The agreement between Russia and South Ossetia on the settlement of dual citizenship issues will expand civil rights and provide people with additional social guarantees without renouncing the citizenship of the other party. This agreement has been prepared in the last few years and has been under the control of the leaders of our countries, is fully approved by the relevant authorities of the parties and is ready to be signed.
– The beginning of August 2008 was commemorated by a special tension on the border of South Ossetia with Georgia. Constant provocations, individual attacks against the background of general terrorist activity. By August 7, the number of terrorist attacks by Georgian saboteurs had exceeded a dozen …
At the time, I was a representative of South Ossetia in Moscow, where we also felt growing tension. It so happened that my press conference on this topic was scheduled for August 8 at Interfax, and on the evening of August 7, at 11:35 pm, the massive rocket and artillery bombing of Tskhinvali began. I was immediately called from Russian TV channel 1 and sat down until seven in the morning. Then there was the airport Interfax and Vnukovo, from where I left for Vladikavkaz and further to South Ossetia.
Even now, it's hard to remember what we experienced in those days. The lack of information worsened my condition, especially since I knew nothing about where my friends, neighbors and relatives were. The son who was there at the time did not get in touch. On August 9, I was already at my house, next to which a 500-kilogram bomb exploded. The roof of the house was torn down, all the doors and windows were knocked out … The biggest shock, however, was to see the burning hometown – destroyed, with traces of street fighting, but unconquered. I found my son in the basement of the Republic Hospital, where all the injured were taken. He ended up there with my brother injured in the head. Tskhinvali was thoroughly destroyed, but did not give up. The Georgian commando fled on the 8th evening, the final cleansing of the city took place on the 9th and 10th. We have lost many civilians, soldiers and officers of our army. These days we will remember all those who died and defended our country at that time. Bow to the soldiers and officers of the Russian army who laid their heads off in those August days of 2008.
– The discussion takes place only in the minds of the participants and inspirers of this adventure. Everyone else in the world has long known that the war was started by the criminal regime of the then President of Georgia. Already on 3 September 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia. In it, for the first time in official EU documents, responsibility for a military attack on South Ossetia was assigned to the Saakashvili regime. And on 30 September, the final report of Heidi Tagliavini, head of the European Union's special commission, was published, examining very carefully all the circumstances of the August 2008 war. But this is not interesting either for these six countries or for Albania, which has joined them. The authors of this statement are also not interested in the long-term shelling of peaceful South Ossetians, thousands of deaths of innocent people; it does not cause them any condemnation, but on the contrary finds the most zealous support. And it is not a simple ignorance of the origin and nature of this problem, it is just a recently accepted practice of a double standard, used as a political tool.
– Undoubtedly, such work is underway, and a pandemic could not stop the movement. We will continue this work, it is included in the foreign policy strategy of our country. There will certainly be further recognition of the republic. South Ossetia has enough friends in the world, whose contacts are a priority for us.
– Eliminating the recurrence of the war, ensuring the security of the population is the main task of the leadership of South Ossetia. These issues are being addressed together with Russia's military-political leadership, our main ally and strategic partner. The legal basis of bilateral relations currently created allows us to talk about the common defense space of our countries. There are objective reasons for this – these days, on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the August Georgian aggression, the multinational exercise “Agile Spirit – 2021” is being held in Georgia for the tenth time, in which repairmen from Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia , Spain., Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, USA, Turkey, Ukraine and Estonia, including about 1,500 Georgian and 700 US troops. They are working on the return of the “occupied territories”, or on the possibility of armed confiscation of South Ossetia. A large number of state-of-the-art weapons and military equipment were delivered to Georgia. And as we know from experience, all this will remain in Georgia as “humanitarian aid”.
– The Geneva Discussions are the only platform where all party meetings take place several times a year. We have no other format.
– There are, of course, prospects, but they look like a picture where the owner is holding a donkey's tied carrot. It is clear that such a “picture” is beneficial for the owner, for the one who holds this carrot in his hands, determines the direction of Georgia, which should be directed against Russia.
– Our relations with Russia are developing very dynamically and positively. We feel constant attention to the problems of South Ossetia. This applies to all areas of interaction. These relations will continue to develop despite the reluctance of the neighboring country and their overseas friends. A living example – we started our conversation with the fact that the next South Ossetian-Russian agreement is ready to be signed, I note that the bill for these bilateral agreements has already exceeded one hundred.
No one can force us to give up building a sovereign, legal and democratic state, just as no one will be able to commit Russia to withdraw its recognition of the state independence of South Ossetia.
This is an established axiom.