South Ossetian Leader: We do not Trust Saakashvili

President of breakaway South Ossetia said, in an interview with the Russian news agency Regnum on February 22, that the South Ossetian side does not believe that Tbilisi will implement the proposal unveiled by President Mikheil Saakashvili during his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe in January, concerning Tbilisi”s readiness to grant South Ossetia broad autonomy.

“Why should Ossetians believe Saakashvili, who has just recently organized a military campaign against South Ossetia?” Eduard Kokoity said, referring to armed clashes between Georgian and Ossetian troops which broke-out last August.

Kokoity said, while answering the question of whether or not the South Ossetian side is ready to compromise with Tbilisi, that it is “inappropriate to use terms like “concession” when talking about Georgian-Ossetian conflict resolution.”

“We are talking about restoration of justice… recognition of our right to develop freely and of self-determination. In turn, we are ready to recognize Georgia”s interests in terms of using our transport communication links, providing rights to the Georgian population of South Ossetia [and] cooperating in law enforcement and other issues,[but] only if this [cooperation] does not violate the sovereign rights of our state,” Kokoity said.

He also said that there are “numerous facts confirming that Tbilisi is still seriously considering the scenario of a military solution.”

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