Georgia extremely concerned over treaty between Russia and South Ossetia

Today, on March 19, President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili expressed keen concern over the Russian-Ossetian Agreement of Alliance and Integration and slammed Russia for destructive actions.

“We are extremely outraged over signing the so-called ‘Treaty on the Alliance and Integration’ between the Russian Federation and the occupational regime of Tskhinvali. This step, taken against territorial integrity of the sovereign state, further aggravates the occurred situation after occupation and leads to the annexation,” the president’s administration quotes Margvelashvili as saying.

The Georgian president says that in response to the efforts of the Georgian government to find rational ways to regulate the situation and find solutions to the current problems, Russia responds “with destructive actions creating problems to the negotiation process and ultimately escalating the current situation.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Georgian foreign ministry announced that the agreement between Russia and South Ossetia runs contrary to the international law. In August of 2008, after the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, South Ossetia and Abkhazia applied to Russia for recognition of their independence from Georgia. Then president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Moscow says the decision to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia reflects the reality and is not subject to revision. A number of other countries have also recognized the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia helps the two countries restore economy.

As EAD reported earlier, Presidents of Russia and South Ossetia, Vladimir Putin and Leonid Tibilov, signed an Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia on Alliance and Integration in Moscow on March 18. Under the agreement, the two countries will establish a common defense and security space, allow free movement across the Russia-South Ossetia border, integrate their customs services, develop cooperation between their interior ministries, and simplify the procedures for obtaining Russian citizenship. The agreement also covers the social dimension, including pensions. It sets out the procedures for the cooperation in the social sector, including on raising pensions and public sector wages in South Ossetia and establishing a compulsory medical insurance system there.