De facto president Bibilov: NATO provides armament for Georgia
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, June 11
De facto President of Georgia’s eastern, Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region Anatoly Bibilov says that NATO is proving armament for Georgia. However, he says, that the Tskhinvali ‘government’ is not afraid of that as they are backed by Russia.
“Russia is a guarantor of our security,” Bibilovc told Italian, Belgian, Japanese, German, Finish and Czech individuals who were illegally observing the so-called parliamentary elections in the region on June 9.
Georgia and NATO enjoy close times, often criticized by Russia, with no arms being provided as Bibilov says, frequently stated by Georgian officials.
The preliminary results of the so-called elections have shown the victory of the United Ossetia party; one Bibilov belongs to, the Russian media reports.
A total of 98 candidates were running for 34 seats in the so-called national parliament of Tskhinvali, with 31,000 voters registered and polling stations also opened in Russia and Georgia’s another occupied Abkhazia region.
The de facto government of Tskhinvali temporarily closed so-called border with Georgia for the ‘elections,’ starting from June 8 to 6 a.m. on June 11.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces the “parliamentary elections,” which “blatantly violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders.”
The European Union, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine have made officials statements, condemning the illegal elections.
Russia recognised two Georgian regions of Tskhinvali and Abkhazia as independent states after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
As of today, only Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and Syria recognize the two regions as independent countries.
The rest of the international community says that the regions are occupied by Russia, urging the country to fulfill its internationally taken obligations and withdraw its troops from the Georgian territory.
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part, and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian armed forces and North Caucasian militants. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasus and Cossack militants and the Russian troops stationed in and near Abkhazia.
Between 13,000 to 20,000 ethnic Georgians and approximately 3,000 Abkhaz have been reported killed, more than 250,000 Georgians became internally displaced, or refugees and about 2,000 are considered missing.
The Russia-Georgia 2008 War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war, 20,272 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remained displaced.
