For the Ossetian people, September 20 is a significant date, a crucial and fundamental event in the history of the Republic's emergence as the independent and sovereign state, according to the statement of the MFA on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Republic's proclamation.
"35 years ago, when the Council of People's Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, which proclaimed the formation of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic within the USSR, South Ossetia embarked on the path of its own state-building," the MFA stated.
As noted, the process of South Ossetia's sovereignty was taking place exclusively through democratic means, in full compliance with the spirit and letter of the USSR legislation in force at the time, and was based on the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination.
"The proclamation of South Ossetia's statehood was dictated by the de facto collapse of the USSR, the illegal abolition of South Ossetia's autonomous status by the Georgian authorities, the armed aggression and attempts to seize South Ossetian territory that, as well as the systematic extermination of Ossetians defending their right to freedom, human dignity, and, ultimately, the right to life organized in Georgia," the Foreign Ministry has noted.
Under these extremely difficult circumstances, responsible and timely political decisions were made, ultimately leading to the legal formation of the new state.
"Among them is the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia on December 21, 1991, the holding of a referendum on independence, the adoption of the Act of Proclamation of State Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia, and the first Constitution.
The past years have confirmed the historical necessity of the steps taken and clearly demonstrated the inevitability of the choice made as the only correct step to protect the southern branch of the Ossetian people from the threat of physical extermination and forced assimilation," the statement reads.
The Ministry added that South Ossetia had undergone a difficult path of development, facing various hardships and suffering irreparable losses.
"On August 26, 2008, the Ossetian people's long-standing struggle was crowned with victory. It was on this day, after the completion of the operation to force the aggressor to peace, that President of the Russian Federation signed a historic decree recognizing the state independence of the Republic of South Ossetia," the Foreign Ministry has noted.
Time has shown that the Russian Federation has been and remains a reliable ally of South Ossetia, a guarantor of its peaceful and secure development, the Foreign Ministry has emphasized.
