Alexei Vlasov, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
This week the head of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus, Vladimir Makey, stated that Minsk could return to reconsideration of its position on recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “I cannot say that our position has changed, but we are going to analyze the situation in the post-Soviet space and make a decision on the question, considering our national interests,” the foreign minister emphasized. The news made experts talk about prospects of South Ossetia as an independent state from the economic point of view. Even though since inauguration of President Leonid Tibilov 8 months have passed, experts do not see any breakthroughs in the activity of the new authorities.
However, the socio-economic strategy was discussed even ahead of the presidential elections in late 2011 in South Ossetia. But the political context displaced the main theme – settlement of the issue on the economic development strategy which could turn South Ossetia into a self-sufficient state, at least a state which doesn’t rely only on sponsorship of Russia. At the moment ways of settlement of this issue are being searched for. Of course 8 months is an insufficient term for such a global task.
Meanwhile, South Ossetia continues discussing “heritage” of the former leader of the republic Eduard Kokoyty, as under him transparency of spending resources allocated by Russia was under a big question. Today, according to the deputy general prosecutor Sergey Bitiyev, a possibility of initiating a criminal case against the former minister of economic development Alexander Zhmailo is considered. The general prosecution has already initiated 20 criminal cases against constructing companies which are suspected in breaking laws during implementation of building and reconstructing works in South Ossetia. Probably five criminal cases will be sent to Russia, as defendants are citizens of Russia.
It is obvious that the main criterion defining effectiveness of the system’s working is not a number of initiated criminal cases. Sometimes working on certain steps on forming a new model of relations (it concerns not only South Ossetia, but also relations between Russia and South Ossetia) takes more time that signing documents on arrest of a guilty bureaucrat. At the moment, the ball is on Moscow’s side and it should help the authorities of South Ossetia to settle the problems which the republic faces. It seems the Kremlin is working in this direction.
