Occupied Tskhinvali creates ‘border demarcation commission’,demands one more village

The Georgian occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) de facto parliament has created a ‘border delimitation-demarcation commission’ and is now saying that it is "unjust” that the village Tsnelisi is not "within the border of the South Ossetian republic.”

Both the commission and the statement on the village have been assessed as provocative and as a violation of all international law by Tbilisi.

The so-called commission and the demand on the village are beyond any legal grounds. The co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions clearly stated this yesterday,” Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said.

The Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili says that the actions of Tskhinvali are "provocative” and it is the advice of the participants of the Geneva International Discussions that official Tbilisi not respond to the ungrounded demands at all.

There is no border as Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are parts of Georgia and this fact is recognised by the international community. Consequently, the creation of the border demarcation commission is a legal absurdity. It is the position of the Georgian government and our foreign allies that we [the Georgian authorities] should not respond to the provocation as such a step will trigger further humanitarian problems,” Tsikhelashvili said.

The minister stated that Georgia is taking steps to ease the current hard conditions both for ethnic Georgian and the Ossetian population in the villages near the occupation line, while Russia and the de-facto leaderships of the occupied regions are erecting barbed-wire fences and restricting the freedom of movement.

Learn more about the conflict in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali here.