The statement of Russian writer and journalist Alexander Prokhanov, touching on the fact that certain liberally-oriented circles of the Russian government are inclined to agree on South Ossetia's reintegration into Georgia, has raised a wave of reaction in the Ossetian community. Moreover, the current South Ossetian president, Eduard Kokoity, is unlikely to run for future elections, and without him, the Ossetian public believes, these circles would try to trade Ossetian independence for a chance to remove Saakashvili from power in Georgia.
However, the deputy speaker of the South Ossetian parliament, Zurab Kokoev, insisted that Mr Prokharov is mistaken, and neither liberal nor any other forces within the Russian government could betray Ossetian independence, as it answers Russia’s most urgent national interests. Disproving Prokhanov’s point, Tskhinvali experts cite Dmitry Medvedev, who said that Russian policies towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the terms of their agreements, would under no circumstances be changed.
The majority of the South Ossetian population does not want President Kokoity to leave office. People believe that, if he stays in power, the republic will know peace and stability. Ossetians are deeply concerned about the possibility of a new war and disapprove of the statements Saakashvili made during the opening broadcast of the “Caucasian One” TV-channel. The Georgian president said that the war is not over yet, thus undermining Ossetian faith in his so-called peaceful initiatives. The South Ossetian deputy foreign minister pointed out that, in 2008, Saakashvili also said that he only intended to take peaceful actions, but a few hours later the Georgian military was bombing Tskhinvali, so the Ossetian public have no reasons to believe Saakashvili.
South Ossetian expert Inal Pliev said in an interview to VK that Georgia feeds two completely different propaganda stories to the West and to Russia. The ‘western version’ tells about Russian occupation, and the one told to the Russian audience warns that Ossetia is a ‘black hole’ for Russian money. According to the expert, Georgia will try to destabilize the frontier before launching a full scale attack. And the best way to prevent this is to stabilize the economy and the social sphere.
Tengiz Doguzov, Tskhinvali. Exclusively for VK
