Border with an obstacle

The stretch of border in the Darial gorge has separated many Ossetian and Georgian families,

Traffic across the Russian-Georgian state border was reopened in the  Darial gorge on March 1st. In Tbilisi, the opinion that it has been
done entirely for benefit of Armenia has already become well-established. Georgian citizens and cargoes do not cross the
border, because obtaining a Russian visa is quite a difficult thing for a Georgian citizen nowadays. Russians don't drive there either.
Moreover, having opened the frontier point at Darial and Upper Lars, the government virtually closed the road for many Ossetians and Georgians residing in the Kazbegi District of Georgia. About 30 villages in the district are situated on the northern slopes of the
main Caucasian ridge. Their lives were historically linked to Vladikavkaz. Formerly, it was possible to get there by car in half an hour. A journey to Tbilisi dragged on for several hours, and in winter it became impassable because of abundant snow on the Kresrovy pass.
The Russian-Georgian border in the Darial gorge has literally parted many Ossetian and Georgian families. This has often happened to elderly people staying in the Kazbegi District and their children and grandchildren in Vladikavkaz. Until 2006 they had the right to
visa-free transit . Now they have been deprived of this right. When people from the Kazbegi district appealed to the Russian frontier bosses, they basically received a mocking response: go to Moscow and obtain three-month visas at the Georgian section of the Swiss embassy,
and then prolong them regularly. Many elderly people living in the Kazbegi district have never traveled further than Vladikavkaz , and now they are only permitted to visit their children and grandchildren through the Swiss Embassy.

Attention was drawn to this problem by Gocha Dzasokhov, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia and the President of the Assembly of Peoples of Georgia. He met with natives of the Kazbegi district who have united into the "Darial" movement in order to protect their
interests. Dzasokhov promised to find a compromise between their interests and the existing border regulations. "The compromise must enable people living in Vladikavkaz, be they Ossetians or Georgians, not to have to go to Moscow and wait there several days, spending huge sums of money. So that they can obtain a permit to visit the Kazbegi district in Vladikavkaz. I have talked with members of the Foreign Ministry of Russia and international organizations, who have promised their assistance. We talk about diplomatic relations, we discuss them at debates in Geneva, but we must start with real people and solve their problems "  Dzasokhov emphasized in interview with the VK correspondent.

Some Tbilisi politicians and experts believe that the Georgian authorities rushed to open traffic through the Lars checkpoint in March. For example, in the judgment of Mamuka Areshidze, the head of the Caucasian Centre for Strategic Studies, the authorities have not
managed to solve many problems connected with the relations between Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz. "There are plans to capture almost all of the Kazbegi district. Ossetian and North Ossetian newspapers write about it continually. Local authorities are seriously involved in these matters. Events held by organizations engaged in disseminating the idea of North Ossetia's entitlement to the Kazbegi district are attended by local members of parliament", Areshidze told VK.

Other Tbilisi experts talk about the possibility of the penetration of illegal armed groups through the Darial gorge. This problem can be solved in a much more efficient way, by applying efforts from both sides of the border. Gocha Dzasokhov has gained support in Tbilisi, despite numerous warnings from Tbilisi experts. The leader of the social and political movement " White", Teimuraz Shashiashvili, supported strengthening connections between the neighboring Georgian and Ossetian peoples in every way possible, and opposed creating additional obstacles between them. Establishing good relations between Tbilisi and North Ossetia at various levels may benefit a settlement of the South Ossetian problem. "Human relations should be good, Teimuraz Shashiashvili told VK. This is the most important thing for politicians. I do not understand politicians opposing it. If we communicate,  we will establish good relations with North Ossetia and in the future also with Russia, and this question will not arise any more. I have met with my Ossetian friends many times. Their approach is more pro-Georgian than that of those Georgian politicians opposed to either Russia or Vladikavkaz.

So far, only Gocha Dzasokhov and Teimuraz Shashiashvili are standing up for facilitating a state border crossing for the Ossetians and Georgians living in the Kazbegi district and North Ossetia. Perhaps they will manage to attract other influential politicians to their
side in the near future. The tactic for resolving Ossetian-Georgian relations that Dzasokhov and Shashiashvili adhere to is to draw these people closer. From these people, the impetus will grow and touch other strata of society.

As for the frontier fortifications in the Darial gorge, they existed only in the Middle Ages.The present-day inhabitants of the border area have never seen anything like artificial barriers before. Formerly, they had enough natural obstacles connected to avalanches, landslides
and torrential rivers.

Oleg Kushaty, exclusively for VK