S. Ossetia closing border with Georgia for elections period

TSKHINVAL. Oct 10 (Interfax) - The South Ossetian Security Council has decided to close the border with Georgia for the period of Georgian parliamentary elections.

"There will be parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26. Given the information we receive, even from public sources, we understand that the situation is exacerbating," South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev said at a meeting of the South Ossetian Security Council in Tskhinval on Thursday.

Western security services and embassies are openly doing whatever they can to destabilize Georgia during the parliamentary elections, he said.

As South Ossetia opens the border between the 20th and 30th day of every month in the Leningori and Dzau districts for humanitarian considerations, everything must be done to ensure security of citizens and South Ossetia, Gagloyev said.

Seeking to avoid possible provocations by pro-Western and radical nationalistic forces in Georgia, the South Ossetian Security Council decided that border checkpoints with the simplified crossing procedure will be closed from 8 a.m. on October 25 to 8 a.m. on October 28.