Georgia’s MFA rechecks information on opening of de-facto South Ossetia’s Embassy in Rome
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, March 22
Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is rechecking information over the opening of official representation of Georgia’s de-facto Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in the capital of Italy.
The Ministry stressed that Italy respected Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity but had regardless informed Italian diplomats about the information spread by Russia’s Sputnik news agency yesterday.
The agency cited the head of the Italy-South Ossetia Friendship Society, Mauro Murga, as saying that the “representation of the Republic of South Ossetia in Italy has become a reality”.
Murga added, “now the citizens of South Ossetia, who are located in Italy, in case of need, can rely on professional diplomatic assistance and support.”
Georgia’s State Minister of Reconciliation and Civic Equality Paata Zakareishvili stated the opening of de-facto Tskhinvali representation in Italy “has no legal or political basis”.
The Minister stressed it was not for the first time when certain individuals and not a state did such things, and added that such incidents would continue to take place until the conflict was resolved.
“The so-called representation is not registered and represents only an initiative of an individual…Georgia’s Foreign Ministry is engaged in the process and controls the situation, but it is impossible to stop individuals doing such things until the conflict is brought to an end,” Zakareishvili said.
Russia recognized Georgia’s de facto regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent republics after the Russian-Georgian war of 2008.
Since the war's end, only Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru recognised the “independence” of the regions.
