On 18 and 19 June, 2011 ten citizens of Georgia having violated the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia were detained in Dzau Region of the Republic of South Ossetia not far from the village Koz. At present relevant South Ossetian services carry out an investigative action with the detainees upon completion of which case papers will reach the trial.
In spite of the fact that the detention of the citizens of Georgia occurred on the territory of South Ossetia approximately in one and a half kilometers from the border, official establishment of Georgia, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spreads false information accusing Russian border guard of “kidnapping civilian citizens”. It seems that Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia uses each similar case of violating the border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia by the citizens of Georgia to charge the Russian Federation with recurrent portion of groundless accusation, and appeal pitifully to international community for putting the heat on Russia. In particular, in the statement of MFA of Georgia from June 20, 2011 there is another appeal to international community ‘to make the Russian Federation ensure mission of international observers the right of access’ the territory of South Ossetia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia announces that such a position of Georgian authorities absolutely does not correspond to the facts. The Republic of South Ossetia is a sovereign state and all the issues including border line ones should be discussed with its authorities. A Georgian assertion of ‘occupation’ and ‘occupation force’ is a designed misrepresentation of the international community. Russian frontiers, in no way encroaching human rights, fulfill the guard of the state boundary of the Republic of South Ossetia together with South-Ossetia colleagues in terms of bilateral intergovernmental agreement concluded in compliance with the standards of international law.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia announces that the responsibility for this incident and such violations of the state boundary rests with the Georgian authorities which take no measures to ban their citizens to enter the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia and deliberately do not inform about the state boundary lines.
Tskhinval, 21 June, 2011