RF, S Ossetia to agree on visa free travel of citizens

ITAR-TASS
December 17, 2009

MOSCOW - The Russian government will consider at its meeting on Thursday a draft agreement with South Ossetia on mutual visa free travel of the two countries' citizens, it is said in materials placed on the RF government's official website.

A source in the cabinet told Itar-Tass that the "main idea written in the draft agreement is the introduction of visa free regime of the two countries' citizens not only with foreign passports, but also with internal documents of Russia and South Ossetia." He noted the introduction of the new form will require following ratification of the agreement after its signing.

The draft agreement on the whole, the source stressed, "is aimed at the establishment of the most favoured regime for mutual travel of citizens, easing of the tense situation that has now developed at checkpoints on the border with South Ossetia, as well as strengthening of the contractual-legal framework of the bilateral relations." The simplification of the regime of travel for citizens of Russia and South Ossetia, government officials believe, will create favourable conditions for the development of deepening of humanitarian exchanges.

The RF government will also consider at its meeting the possibility of signing with South Ossetia of another document - on cooperation in the fight with illegal migration. In particular, the source explained, the document determines the mechanism of cooperation of the two countries "in the organisation of the immigration control, registration of persons illegally crossing the states' borders, exchange of information about exposed illegal migration channels, about citizens involved in the organisation of illegal migration that are staying in the territory of the two countries." The fulfilment of the agreement is also aimed at corresponding crime prevention.

In the Soviet era South Ossetia was the "South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast," an ethnic autonomous territorial entity, within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR).

The Republic of South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia in 1990. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to retake the region by force. This led to the 1991-1992 South Ossetia War.

Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The last attempt led to the 2008 South Ossetia war, during which Ossetian separatists and Russian troops gained full, de-facto, control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast.

In the wake of the 2008 South Ossetia War, Nicaragua, Russia, Venezuela and Nauru recognized South Ossetia as an independent republic. Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia's existence as a political entity, and considers most of its territory a part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.

South Ossetia covers an area of about 3,900 sq km (1,506 sq mi) on the southern side of the Caucasus, separated by the mountains from the more populous North Ossetia (part of Russia) and extending southwards almost to the Mtkvari river in Georgia. It is extremely mountainous, with most of the region lying over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) above sea level, and its highest point is the Mount Khalatsa, at 3,938 m (12,920 ft) above sea level. Its economy is primarily agricultural, although less than 10% of South Ossetia's land area is cultivated. A number of industrial facilities also exist, particularly around the capital, Tskhinval.

The modern-day South Ossetia joined Russia in 1801, along with Georgia proper, and absorbed into the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, South Ossetia became a part of the Menshevik Georgian Democratic Republic, while the North Ossetia became a part of the Terek Soviet Republic.

The Soviet Georgian government established after the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921 created the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast in April 1922. Although the Ossetians had their own language (Ossetian), Russian and Georgian were administrative/state languages. Under the rule of Georgia's government during Soviet times, it enjoyed partial autonomy, including speaking the Ossetian language and teaching it in schools.

The European Union, Council of Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and most UN member countries do not recognize South Ossetia as an independent state. The de facto republic governed by the secessionist government held a second independence referendum on 12 November 2006, after its first referendum in 1992 was not recognized by most governments as valid. According to the Tskhinval election authorities, the referendum turned out a majority for independence from Georgia where 99% of South Ossetian voters supported independence and the turnout for the vote was 95%. The referendum was monitored by a team of 34 international observers from Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden and other countries at 78 polling stations. However, it was not recognized internationally by the UN, European Union, OSCE, NATO and the RF, given the lack of ethnic Georgian participation and the legality of such a referendum without recognition from the Georgian government in Tbilisi. The European Union, OSCE and NATO condemned the referendum.