Author: Pavel Martynov, exclusive to VK
Even before his official appointment as Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili, addressing the representatives of the former ruling party, the United National Movement, said: "The 2008 war was a great provocation planned by your commander and you." However, this philippic did not cause in Tskhinvali any illusions about warming relations with Tbilisi. The fact is that Ivanishvili is going to use the alleged establishment of relations with Moscow, among others, for returning breakaway autonomies. "By our righteous actions and diplomacy we can settle this issue, and we will soon return our territory when our interests coincide with the interests of Russia", - the Georgian Prime Minister said.
"Yet no one leader of Georgia showed intentions to build an equal relationship. And Ivanishvili, basing on his statements, is also not ready for it. Instead, he, like all other Georgian politicians, inspires its people by a hope for a "return" of South Ossetia. South Ossetia has never been part of the state of Georgia, and now it is a sovereign, recognized state, and it is necessary to build the policy solely on the basis of these realities. Today, the executive branch in Georgia is still headed by people who unleashed aggression against our country two times, in 2004 and 2008. Georgian side should give due assessment to these military aggressions, recognize the state of South Ossetia and make restitution. This will be critical for the development of future international Ossetian-Georgian relations, " South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov expressed his opinion on the normalization of relations between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali and went to Moscow - to meet with Vladimir Putin, to dispel his illusions, if they suddenly appear .
However, the Russian president was not so categorical. "I recognize that the current situation in the region is somewhat different. Hopefully, that will change for the better, and we can build a good relationship with all our neighbors, "- Putin said. At the same time, he promised to continue to provide the necessary support to South Ossetia in strengthening its statehood and resolving the economic and social problems. "We will, as always, help create the conditions for better living through the creation of new jobs and revitalize the infrastructure of the republic" - the Russian president promised.
The presidents did not publicly speak on the prospects of improving relations in the triangle Moscow-Tbilisi-Tskhinvali. But during a visit to Moscow Tibilov signed an intergovernmental agreement on international road transport which should create the conditions for the expansion of foreign trade and facilitate the movement of citizens. The document was signed by South Ossetian Deputy Prime Minister Guram Melkoyev and Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov. The latter observed that, due to certain geographical circumstances, the interaction in the sphere of transport was one of the key factors in the development of relations between South Ossetia and Russia in the region as a whole. Throughput between South Ossetia and Russia is increasing every year. For the past seven months compared to the same period in 2011 it has increased by 2.5 times. According to Melkoyev, motor transportation today is the only mode of communication that connects South Ossetia with Russia, but in the short term it is planned to develop other types of transportation.
In Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian delegation's visit to Moscow, in general, was evaluated quite positively. However, there were notes of disappointment. As expert Alan Parastayev said to RES, "after reading the material on this meeting, I felt that the prevailing opinion in South Ossetia that Putin and Russia's leadership are not aware of the actual situation in South Ossetia and are not quite up to date with the most pressing problems, meets truth. If we look at the main points, it is obvious that the awareness of situation in the top political echelons of the Russian Federation is not similar even to PR in the eyes of the citizens of South Ossetia. And it is now more important than ever. The agreement on transport is certainly remarkable. But if there is nothing to export from South Ossetia by means of these vehicles, if the development of farming and agriculture is rapidly becoming closer to zero, and the tourist infrastructure begins and ends with one or two resorts, including focused on retirees, and there are no normal hotels in Tskhinvali, the question arises: why do we need so pompous agreement? And then an answer comes: for the WTO.
There is nothing wrong with that, but that's not what today is expected in South Ossetia. Perhaps the development of these areas of the economy is planned in the program of investment cooperation, yet this program is virtually unknown. There were slightly sharper words on the social sector, health care and education; it was even said that we should just "work together" and not just make financial investment. And there were already enough investments; they could sink the social problems from South Ossetia to North Africa. Nothing was said about past financial affairs. Does this mean that the work is carried out on them, and the information is hidden in the interests of the investigation, or this page of Russian-Ossetian relations is closed, and thieves and bribe-takers are forgiven? We can only guess what the truth is. If the last argument is true, then the situation in South Ossetia and the image of both the South Ossetian and Russian authorities will be affected by this issue".
