Chochiev: Georgia prevents restoring water supply of Tskhinval

"Despite my agreement with Merab Antadze, co-chairman of the MCC (Mixed Control Commission) from the Georgian party, that today the necessary repair works to restore water supply will be carried out, the working crews were not admitted to the damaged water line section. Apparently, Merab Antadze cannot affect the law enforcement bodies of Georgia and demand from them to observe the agreements," Boris Chochiev said.

"It is known that the damaged site was visited yesterday by military observers from the three parties and officers of the OSCE Mission, and earlier Mr. Roy Reave, Head of the OSCE Mission in Georgia, visited the site with the aim to study the situation. However, despite all that, today the Georgian party has demanded to conduct a new monitoring. It is done intentionally; they play for time, trying to benefit from our difficulties. The repair crews are waiting at the border from 7 a.m. to be admitted to the damaged section, where the monitoring group is working again," he has added.

In addition, according to information of the South-Ossetian part of the MCC: "On their way back from the trip, B. Chochiev, R. Reave, B. Dimitrov, L. Beladyi, the officers for military monitoring of the OSCE Mission in Georgia and even the interpreters of the Tskhinval OSCE Office who accompanied them where detained in Achabet village, under threat of firearms, by Georgian power agents, illegally deployed in the conflict zone. The officials were kept at gunpoint of sub-machine guns for about half an hour. The attempt of Roy Reave to explain to Georgian power agents the illegality and inadmissibility of their actions brought no results. Only after telephone calls of Ambassador R. Reave to correspondent instances the group was allowed to continue their way."