Leaders of South Ossetian parties in Moscow

By Vestnik Kavkaza

Parliamentary elections are due to take place in South Ossetia. Their results will influence not only the internal political life of the young state in a long-term prospect, but also the fulfillment of investment programs and socio-economic projects. Participants of the elections are Unity, United Ossetia, Unity of People, New Ossetia, and the Communist Party. Last week leaders of the South Ossetian parties came to the State Duma of Russia to take part in the conference headlined “Cooperation between political parties of Russia and South Ossetia: reality and prospects.”

Leonid Slutsky, the head of the State Duma Committee for the CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integrations and Contacts with Compatriots, stated that “Russia tries to support the young South Ossetian democracy in all spheres, including building the democratic political system. The State Duma will send a significant amount of observers. In the nearest future we will define their number. I think we will manage to persuade the international society; the international parliamentary platforms that South Ossetia and its society have a right course for development of parliamentarianism in South Ossetia. I am sure it will be a historic parliament which will open a new page in the history of South Ossetian parliamentarianism.”

The head of the Unity Party, Zurab Kokoyev, expressed his support of Russian activities in Crimea: “Not only in Russia, but also in South Ossetia we were happy to know that our Crimea (it is our own, as we used to live in one country, the Soviet Union, and today we live in one space) came back home, as Vladimir Putin said, its native harbor. We all remember 2011 when such a tense situation was in the republic. And Russia did its best to eliminate the tension. Now we will do our best to hold democratic elections in the framework of the international law to show the Western society and all countries that Russia made a right step, when it recognized the independence of South Ossetia.”

It was agreed at the event that Russia and South Ossetia would develop cooperation not only between political parties, but also between relevant ministries. The leader of United Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov said that “processes which are taking place in the political and economic spheres and in reconstruction of South Ossetia need a bilateral communication, consultations and even a bilateral control over reconstruction of South Ossetia.”