Tbilisi slams possible closure of administrative border with Akhalgori

The Georgian side will react “strictly” if the administrative border with Akhalgori is closed, Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said on Thursday after the news agency Osinform announced the possible closure of the administrative border with Akhalgori by the de facto South Ossetian authorities.

“It is necessary to gradually control movement across the (administrative) border more strictly until its final closure as a security measure,” de facto South Ossetian Special Representative in Post Conflict Regulation Issues Boris Chochiev reportedly said. One of the reasons for this decision cited by Chochiev was the supposed detention of Akhalgori resident Khatuna Charaeva in Tbilisi market on December 20. She had been detained for allegedly carrying USD 30,000 of counterfeit money, Chochiev said, calling this a “new method used by the Georgian Government to create unbearable conditions” for the people in Akhalgori region.

Chochiev suggested that Tbilisi is planning to stage “diversions” in de facto South Ossetia. “The South Ossetian side possesses information that Tbilisi is planning to carry out diversions on the territory of South Ossetia. Tbilisi is preparing special diversion groups composed of people living in Leningori (Akhalgori) who will stage terrorist acts on our territory,” Chochiev noted.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to react to the de facto official’s statements. “We hope that the international community’s reaction will also be strict,” Kalandadze said.