Comment by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia
The main addressee of such declarations made by Georgia has always been western audience inexperienced in subtlety of Tbilisi word usage; the purpose has been improvement of not very respectable image of the Georgian state and attempt to convince the Western world that Georgia was a regional “democracy beacon” that needed a great support. Hardly there would be any Georgian politician who sincerely is counting on short memory and total absence of common sense of the Ossetians. They understand in Georgia that South Ossetia will never forget and won't forgive the genocide, the ethnic cleanings, the destructive bombing of Tskhinval and the invasion of Georgian troops in August, 2008, that immediately followed the words of the Head of Georgia about peace and brotherhood between the Ossetians and the Georgians.
Neither has anybody beared responsibility for the crimes committed against humanity in relation to Ossetian people nor any political act condemning these crimes was adopted in Georgian state. Moreover, Georgia goes on increasing military potential and cherishing revanchist ambitions, expecting to seize Ossetian lands when occasion offers. It is not coincidence that Tbilisi has been refusing flatly to sign the legally binding document on non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia for more than six years.
It will take time for Georgian authorities to realize the developed realities and give up the claims for neighbors’ lands. Unfortunately, the misperception of reality and territorial claims of Tbilisi remains an obstacle for development of the country, prevent from returning to normal conditions of life as well as from establishing good neighbourliness with the Republic of South Ossetia. As for the “ritual spells” that sound from Tbilisi tribunes, they can impress only those who are worlds away from South Caucasus and the understanding of its regional problems.
April 2, 2015, Tskhinval