Tskhinvali, Moscow, OSCE Condemn Attacks on Peacekeepers

The Chairman-in-Office for the OSCE, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, as well as the Russian Foreign Ministry and the authorities of breakaway South Ossetian expressed concern on October 13 regarding the deaths of two Ossetian members of the joint Russian-Georgian-Ossetian peacekeeping force stationed in the South Ossetian conflict zone.

An armed assault on a vehicle carrying Ossetian peacekeepers, which took place in the conflict zone on October 12, was the latest in a series of attacks on servicemen of the joint peacekeeping troops. A total of six peacekeepers, including two Georgians and one Russian, have been wounded and two Ossetian peacekeepers killed since October 8.

“I urge all parties in the conflict to defuse current tensions and move towards the demilitarization of the zone of conflict,” Solomon Passy said, according a press release issued by the OSCE press and public information office. He called on all parties in the negotiation process to fully implement all commitments to secure a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Authorities of the self-styled South Ossetian Republic also condemned the incident and blamed Georgian law enforcers for two the death of the two Ossetian peacekeepers.

A statement issued by authorities in breakaway South Ossetia reads that a vehicle of Ossetian peacekeepers en-route to the village of Tsinagar was ambushed near the village of Kirbali on October 12. The driver, Private Ivan Margiev, died immediately after the attack, while two others – Col. Khachirov and Private Dzeranov were wounded.

“Georgian law enforcers arrested the injured servicemen, as well as Private Margiev and one civilian, Alexander Dudaev, who were trying to evacuate the wounded servicemen from the scene. The detainees were taken to Tbilisi. Later on the same day Col. Khachirov [one of the wounded peacekeepers] died in the Georgian Security Ministry,” reads the statement issued by the South Ossetian side.

The Georgian side has made no official statement regarding this incident so far; however officials confirmed the fact that they detained four persons after the armed clash.

“The attack was carried out by the Georgian special services under the pretext of an anti-crime operation, which represents a violation of the agreements, which prohibit the conflicting sides to carry out any kind of operation in the zone under the responsibility of the joint peacekeeping forces,” the South Ossetian de facto government’s statement reads.

Tskhinvali also expressed concern regarding, as the South Ossetian side put it, the “insincerity” of the Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Goga Khaindrava. “[He] assured the South Ossetian side that the detained servicemen were safe and that they were just slightly injured,” the statement says.

In an information note  issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry on October 13, the Ministry’s Spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said that the joint peacekeeping troops stationed in the conflict zone “have recently become a target of frequent attacks.”

“It seems that someone wants to squeeze peacekeeping troops out of the conflict zone,” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry urged both the South Ossetian and Georgian sides to take all “decisive measures” to avoid provocative steps against the peacekeeping troops. Alexander Yakovenko also said that the Russian Foreign Ministry will dispatch its special ambassador Valery Kenyaikin to the conflict zone.