ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SITUATION WITHIN SOUTH OSSETIA
Unofficial translation from Russian
PRESS RELEASE
Moscow is extremely concerned by incoming reports that the Georgian authorities have not discontinued their illegal and provocative actions in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. It has not escaped our attention that, in spite of the persistent demands, the Georgian side is not returning for the disposal of the Unified Command of the Mixed Peacekeeping Force (MPKF) the military equipment that had been sent with the knowledge of the Georgian side and in line with the decision of the Mixed Control Commission for settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict to re-equip the MPKF and was illegally seized and confiscated in an act of gross use of force.
It is undoubted that the forcible seizure of the military equipment is deliberately aimed at a further exacerbation of the situation in South Ossetia and at undermining Russian-Georgian relations.
We are profoundly bewildered by the statements of some representatives of the leadership of Georgia trying to justify the provocative actions of Georgian security structures against the Russian peacekeepers. Those who encourage the executors of this dirty undertaking should realize that it is on them that responsibility lies for the escalation of tensions in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. Furthermore, Tbilisi seems to ignore the fact that the exacerbation of the crisis seriously endangers the security of the population of South Ossetia, the majority of which consists of Russian citizens.
Under these conditions the Russian side resolutely condemns the actions of the Georgian authorities aimed at destabilizing the situation in South Ossetia, and once again calls upon official Tbilisi to heed the voice of reason and not to bring the situation in that area to a dangerous line. It is necessary to at once return the illegally confiscated military equipment, punish those guilty, remove all the posts set up in the zone of conflict without concurrence of the Mixed Control Commission and return to the negotiating table.
July 8, 2004
