South Ossetian Leader Warns of Provocations

South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity, who is currently visiting Moscow, told Interfax on October 18 that Tskhinvali expects provocations from the Georgian side that will aim at wrapping up Russia”s peacekeeping mission in the South Ossetian conflict zone.

“Tbilisi”s latest actions in the territory of South Ossetia, particularly the mortar shelling of Tskhinvali, aim at aggravating the situation and changing the format of the peacekeeping mission in the South Ossetian conflict zone,” news agency Interfax quotes Kokoity as saying.

He said, that the provocations will intensify by February – the date set by the Georgian Parliament to prepare for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the South Ossetian conflict zone if their performance does not improve by that time.

“Everyone should understand that pullout of Russian peacekeepers will significantly aggravate  the situation in the conflict zone, but South Ossetia is ready to use its own army in order to control the border with Georgia and defend its independence following the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers,” Kokoity said. 

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