In August 2008, the world community was silently watching the destruction of the Ossetian people and the execution of peacekeepers, and only decisive actions by Russia prevented the bloody plan of the Saakashvili regime and its policy of state terrorism.
This is stated in the appeal of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation Znaur Gassiev to the diplomatic missions accredited in the Russian Federation, as well as to the Georgian Interests Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in connection with the 17th anniversary of Georgia's military aggression against South Ossetia.
In his address, the Ambassador has reminded that 17 years ago, on the night of August 7-8, 2008, Georgia, having violated all international obligations and agreements, launched a massive artillery shelling of the sleeping South Ossetian capital and districts of the Republic, the location of Russian and South Ossetian peacekeeping forces, social facilities, and invaded the territory of South Ossetia.
“These days, the Republic of South Ossetia, the entire Ossetian people, united by historical memory and duty to past and future generations, are commemorating and paying tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the Georgian aggression of August 2008. The armed aggression was undertaken precisely at the time when the opening ceremony of the 29th Summer Olympic Games was taking place in Beijing. It became another act of permanent genocide against the Ossetian people in the 20th-21st centuries,” the document reads.
Gassiev c has continued that the barbaric massive artillery shelling and Georgian air strikes resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, including women, the elderly and children, while thousands were wounded and died due to lack of access to medical care.
"Thanks to the courage of the defenders and Russian peacekeepers, South Ossetia did not surrender and did not turn into the "open field", contrary to the name of this inhumane action of the Georgian army, trained according to NATO standards," he has noted.
The Ambassador has also emphasized that the barbaric attack on their deployment locations, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of peacekeepers, was a gross violation of the norms of international law, under the protection of which the peacekeeping forces were in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone.
"In August 2008, the Russian Federation once again confirmed its status as a great power, a guarantor state and a peacekeeper protecting the rights of its citizens and compatriots. We are calling for justice, a legal assessment of these acts and punishment of the criminals sheltered by the Georgian authorities and we are grieving for the innocent victims of the Georgian aggression, whose memory will forever remain in our hearts,” Ambassador of the Republic of South Ossetia has concluded.
