Tbilisi Protests ‘Illegal’ Gas Pipe Construction in South Ossetia

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on September 1 that the construction of a gas pipeline between Russia’s North Ossetian Republic and breakaway South Ossetia “is illegal.”

In June, breakaway South Ossetia’s Prime Minister Yuri Morozov traveled to Moscow and held talks with Gazprom officials to discuss construction of the pipeline, which was scheduled to begin in August, according to the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee.

“Any kind of deal with the South Ossetian de facto authorities without the Georgian central authorities’ permission, including the participation of any foreign company in a tender of the planned construction [of the gas pipeline], will be assessed as an infringement of Georgia’s territorial integrity,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

The breakaway region currently receives gas through a pipeline which lies across the territory controlled by the Georgian central authorities.

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