JCC Agrees on Measures Boosting Demilitarization

The quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC) overseeing South Ossetian conflict resolution issues, which held a session on November 19-20 in Russia?s North Ossetian capital Vladikavkaz, hailed the demilitarization process which was launched after November 5 talks between the conflicting sides in Sochi, Regnum news agency reported on November 22.

On November 20 the JCC, which involves representatives from the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and Russia?s North Ossetian republic, agreed to install additional checkpoints of the joint ? Georgian, Ossetian, Russian ? peacekeeping troops in the Georgian village of Didi Liakhvi gorge.

The conflicting sides should provide the exact schemes of existing military fortifications in the Didi Liakhvi gorge before November 25. The joint peacekeeping troops, together with observers from the OSCE, should carry out monitoring of the area, while the conflicting sides dismantle these fortifications, which should be completed before November 28.

The JCC also welcomed a proposal by the North Ossetian President Alexander Dzasokhov over the creation of a so called ?favorable economic zone,? which will involve South Ossetia as well. The JCC agreed to convene a group of experts to study this proposal.

Alexandre Dzasokhov said on November 20, while speaking at a session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) in Vladikavkaz, that the creation of a ?favorable economic zone? in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia may help the settlement of the South Ossetian conflict.

?From the northern side, the border of the most favorable economic zone may lie across the Alagir region of North Ossetia, and from the southern side, it may border with the Gori region of Georgia,? Dzasokhov said.