11:25, 2 October 2019

Georgia and South Ossetia reject concessions on block-post issue

The border between Georgia and South Ossetia. Photo by the press service of the State Security Service of South Ossetia https://www.facebook.com/komitetgosbezopasnosti.southossetia/photos/a.465734606932231/465737340265291/?type=3&theater

Georgia has rejected the demand of South Ossetia to remove its block-post erected near the village of Tsnelis. The South-Ossetian side has also refused to make concessions, stating that the presence of Georgian law enforcers in its territory is impossible.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the construction of a block-post by Georgian militaries was treated by the South-Ossetian parliament as a border violation. The State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia stated that Georgian jurisdiction was covering this territory.

On September 9, South Ossetia announced the closure of the border with Georgia due to "escalation of tensions by Tbilisi because of the erection of block-posts on the border." In their turn, the co-chairs of the Geneva international debates said that the border closing created difficulties for local population.

According to Irakli Antadze, the deputy director of the information-analytical department of the SSS, "the Tskhinvali counterparts were again not ready for a constructive dialogue."

According to his version, so far, due to the closure of the border by South Ossetia, residents of the village of Akhalgori, most of whom are ethnic Georgians, reveal no signs of a humanitarian crisis.

"But, if the checkpoint is not timely opened, and people are not allowed to move freely, after some time, they will definitely have problems," the "InterPressNews" quotes the SSS source as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 2, 2019 at 00:52 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Galina Gotua

Source: CK correspondent