South Ossetia is a close friend and ally of Russia, and Moscow will continue to assist Tskhinval in ensuring security, stability, and sustainable development. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the talks with his South Ossetian counterpart, Akhsar Dzhioev.
"South Ossetia is a close friend and ally of Russia. And we will continue to assist it in ensuring security, stability, and sustainable development. Of particular importance, in our view, is strengthening South Ossetia's international position, to bring to the international community the truth about the events of 2008 and subsequent events, and, of course, about the opportunities for modern South Ossetia in terms of external relations," Lavrov said.
The head of Russian diplomacy congratulated Dzhioev on Republic Day, celebrated in South Ossetia on September 20. Lavrov also called the events of August and September 2008 fateful, TASS reports.
"These events laid the foundation for modern Russian-South Ossetian relations, which are based on the principles of equality, integration, and alliance. Today, South Ossetia is successfully developing as a democratic state, a sovereign state, building a modern economy and social sphere," the Russian Foreign Minister continued. "GDP growth over the past five years has demonstrated stable dynamics; as I was told, statistics indicate a 27.5% increase. Foreign trade turnover is increasing by 14.5%. Important infrastructure projects are being implemented."
Lavrov has reminded that, with Russian assistance, a new state program for the socioeconomic development of South Ossetia for 2026-2030 is being developed. "This will certainly give impetus to further unlocking your country's economic potential," he has emphasized.
