República de Osetia del Sur
Russian MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Commentary on NATO Spokesman’s Remarks Concerning Agreements between Russia, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Joint Efforts to Guard Borders
Moscow has taken notice of the remarks of the NATO spokesman alleging that the agreements signed today on joint efforts to guard the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are a violation of certain truce agreements. That statement evokes surprise because Russia has signed no truce agreements with anyone in this region.
During the course of all recent years we had consistently insisted on signing legally binding agreements between Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the nonuse of force. But in lieu of this the present Georgian leadership in August 2008 unleashed aggression against South Ossetia, which Russian armed forces had to repulse.
The only agreement that we observe is the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, which, by the way, is not being implemented above all by Georgia itself not wanting to withdraw its troops and weapons, and throughout the last few months, building up its military presence in the zones directly adjoining Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moreover, despite the obvious complexities of the internal processes in Georgia and instability in the zones bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the NATO bloc is planning to conduct its military exercises in this very unstable region.
As to the documents signed in Moscow today with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on joint efforts to guard their state borders, they are designed to strengthen security and stability in the region. These deals cannot impede the search of acceptable international presence formats currently in progress.
April 30, 2009