Delegation of the USA Embassy agreed to meet with representatives of South Ossetia

On July 29 on the request of the South-Ossetian side it took place a meeting with representatives of the USA Embassy to Georgia who visited South Ossetia with the aim of acquainting with the course of implementation of the Donor program of economic rehabilitation of the conflict zone.

On the meeting it were present: Deputy Chairman of the Government of the RSO, Minister for Special Affairs, JCC Co-Chair from the South-Ossetian part Boris Chochiev, Secretary of the South-Ossetian part of JCC Leonid Tibilov, the USA Embassy to Georgia was represented by the State Adviser on political and economic issues Julia Fisher, Officer on political issues Cynthia Wittsley, Program Officer Greig Heart, also Head of the Tskhinval field office of OSCE Grzegorz Mikhalsky.

Boris Chochiev expressed gratitude to the representatives of the USA Embassy for the opportunity to provide them with information about the situation around South Ossetia and expound the vision of the South-Ossetian side on the successful implementation of the Donor program.

In the conversation with the guests it was underlined that “the idea of appearing the Donor program was born at the end of 90-ies in connection with the necessity to regulate the negotiation process and increasing confidence between the conflicting sides. However, for the present the implementation of the Donor program is broken by the Georgian side which blocks the projects on energetic, water supply and construction”.

During the meeting with the representatives of the USA Embassy Boris Chochiev made an interesting example: in one of the reports of the OSCE Mission is reflected a fact of talking the Manager on implementation projects of the Donor program Ryan Grist with the Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia. It was stated to Ryan Grist that construction materials for rehabilitating schools and hospitals would not be admitted to South Ossetia.

Representatives of the South-Ossetian side stated that successful implementation of the program of economic rehabilitation of the conflict zone is directly connected with the political situation around South Ossetia: “Numerous teracts and shootings committed by the Georgian side completely exclude those positive results which could be present if the Program implementation were normal”, underlined Boris Chochiev.

“I wonder why donor-countries are never interested in the course of its implementation. Why the 8.5 million Euro allocated on this Program are not yet drawn?”

Members of the delegation of the USA Embassy with interest listened to the opinion of the South-Ossetian side, they stressed the wish to do all the best for the successful implementation of the Donor program and spoke with the proposal to conduct trainings for teachers of the English language.

In the conclusion Boris Chochiev once again underlined the readiness of the South-Ossetian side to open dialogue and cooperation with all sides interested in the process of settlement and economic rehabilitation of the conflict zone.