Occupied Tskhinvali says Elections Will Change Nothing
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, November 30
The de facto leader of Georgia’s eastern occupied Tskhinvali region says that the Georgian presidential elections and the country’s new president will change nothing in “Georgia-South Ossetia relations.”
“The results of the presidential election of Georgia will change nothing for South Ossetia, as the policy of Tbilisi will not be changed,” - de facto president of occupied Tskhinvali region Anatoly Bibilov says.
He claims that none of the Georgian politicians wants to sign the agreement on non-use of force with Tskhinvali.
"It does not matter for us who will be the president of Georgia. We understand that this will not change the relations between Georgia and South Ossetia. There is nobody in Georgia who has the desire to settle relations with South Ossetia or sign the memorandum on non-use of force, "he said.
Bibilov also noted that "South Ossetia counts only on its forces and Russia's support."
The government of Georgia says that it will never sign such an agreement with Tskhinvali, as such a step means that Georgia will recognize the region as an independent republic.
Since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, Tskhinvali has been recognized as an independent state only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria.
The rest of the international community says that two Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are occupied by Russia.
Russian parliamentary international affairs spokesman Konstantin Kosachev “hopes” that the dialogue between Moscow and Tbilisi will be restored after the victory of Salome Zurabishvili in Georgia’s presidential elections.
He says that the outcome of the election is “moderately positive”, but does not exclude the street confrontation in Georgia.
"I do not expect sharp changes in the direction of Russia. However, taking into consideration the fact that Salome Zurabishvili is an experienced and pragmatic politician, I would like to hope that the dialogue space will not be reduced at least and it will be better if it increases. The dialogue is now in the interests of both countries, "Kosachev said.
The Georgian Dream ruling party endorsed presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili defeated the United National Movement candidate Grigol Vashadze in November 28 presidential election runoff.
