S. Ossetia vows to respond to Georgia's further border provocations
TSKHINVALI. July 20 (Interfax) - South Ossetia views Georgia's provocations on the joint border as "unacceptable and offensive," South Ossetia's Deputy Presidential Envoy for Post-Conflict Resolution Khokh Gagloity told reporters after a meeting concerning the framework of the border Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM).
South Ossetia reminded all meeting attendees of the gunfire opened deliberately against border signposts, about which Tskhinvali has repeatedly expressed concerns since February 2015, the official said.
"We said that this trend escalated into the provocations that took place in the past ten days. We view them as unacceptable and offensive. In the event of a repeat of such actions in the border area, there will no doubt be a relevant response," he said.
Representatives from international organizations, who attended the meeting, expressed their readiness to work for the sake of keeping stability in the region, Gagloity said.
Another IPRM meeting is taking place in the Georgian village of Ergneti, which borders South Ossetia, on Monday, as requested by Tskhinvali in the wake of the provocations that occurred along the perimeter of the national border between South Ossetia and Georgia in the past ten days, Gagloity said.
The meeting was attended by representatives from South Ossetia, Russia, Georgia, as well as the European Union Monitoring Mission and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.