Russian MFA: PM’s Aide Misquoted on South Ossetia Status

Mikhail Kaminin, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, said on March 23 that Russian Prime Minister’s aide Genady Bukaev was misquoted by the press when he was speaking about the breakaway South Ossetian status at a joint session of governments of the unrecognized republic and Russia’s North Ossetian republic on March 22.

Russian newspaper Vedomosty reported on March 23 that according to Bukaev Russian leadership has made “a principled decision” on unification of breakaway South Ossetia with the Russian Federation’s North Ossetian Republic.

Mikhail Kaminin also commented on South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity’s calls for the breakaway region’s incorporation into the Russian Federation and said that “this issue has been put forth for [discussion by] the Russian leadership and the State Duma. But the result is well-known.”

“The Russia’s position is that issues related with the status should be a subject of negotiations in frames of JCC [quadripartite Joint Control Commission] on its [negotiations’] third stage,” Kaminin said referring to a three-staged plan, envisaging demilitarization on the first stage and economic rehabilitation/confidence building on the second stage.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman also commented on the joint session of governments of breakaway South Ossetia and North Ossetia in latter’s capital Vladikavkaz and said that this meeting was held “in the context of discussions of a concept on creation of Favorable Economic Zone, the foundation of which was laid during the talks between [Georgia’s late Prime Minister] Zurab Zhvania and Eduard Kokoity in November 2004.”

“This concept envisages creation of Favorable Economic Zone, which will include Alagiri district of North Ossetia, entire territory of South Ossetia and Gori district of Georgia,” Kaminin said.

“At the joint session [of South and North Ossetian governments] Bukaev was speaking in the context of this above mentioned concept. But he was quoted by the press incorrectly. As far as we know, Bukaev intends to brief participants of the JCC about the issue during the JCC session in Vladikavkaz on March 27-28,” Mikhail Kaminin said.

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