MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Tskhinval is ready to build relations with Tbilisi as long as no threats come from Georgia, South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev said in an interview with TASS dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Russia’s recognition of the republic’s independence.
"It’s first and foremost about Georgia accepting responsibility for its act of aggression against South Ossetia, as well as for war crimes; it’s also about signing an agreement on the non-use of force and the joint work to delimit and demarcate the border between our countries that I have already mentioned," Gagloyev said, when asked if Tskhinval was ready to build relations with Tbilisi.
"This would provide grounds for the development of relations in other areas," the South Ossetian president went on to say. "However, there is no such agreement at this point and the threats that existed before 2008 in fact remain to this day," he added.
According to Gagloyev, South Ossetia has repeatedly clarified these conditions. "Our position has not changed," he stressed.
On August 8, 2008, Georgia mounted an overnight armed attack against South Ossetia. Russia intervened to protect civilians, many of whom had obtained Russian citizenship, and its peacekeeping contingent, which had been stationed in the region since 1992. In a five-day armed conflict, more than one thousand people, including 72 Russian peacekeepers, lost their lives. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another former autonomous region of Georgia.