Tbilisi Protests Appointment of Ex-Russian Official as South Ossetia Security Chief

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili said on January 17 that Russian citizen Anatoly Yarovoy has been appointed as breakaway South Ossetia?s Chief of Security Service.

According to Salome Zourabichvili, Anatoly Yarovoy served as a chief of the Security Service of the Russia?s Mordovia Republic.

?Defense Minister [of breakaway South Ossetia] is also Russian [Anatoli Barankevich]. I guess soon we should expect that entire government [in South Ossetia] will be appointed by Russia. It is already more than just interference [in Georgian internal affairs]; it is even more than annexation, I can not find a proper word to describe it,? Salome Zourabichvili said at a news briefing.

South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported on January 17 about the new appointments in the breakaway region?s government; particularly South Ossetian de facto President Eduard Kokoev appointed Arkady Kelekhsaev, as the new Interior Minister of unrecognized republic, replacing Robert Guliyev.

However, nothing was reported about appointment of Anatoly Yarovoy as the Chief of South Ossetian Security Service.