TSKHINVALI. Aug 2 (Interfax) - The Foreign Ministry of South Ossetia has slammed the U.S. Senate over its latest resolution saying that Abkhazia and South Ossetia were occupied by Russia.
"The practice of using the proverbial double standards toward South Ossetia arouses regret and disappointment," the ministry said in a statement.
The U.S. resolution emphasizes the need to respect Georgia's territorial integrity, something that neither South Ossetia nor Russia have anything to do with, the statement says.
"Georgia has never possessed the legal right to the South Ossetian land, which was incorporated into the Georgian Socialist Republic in 1922 against the will of the Ossetian people," it says.
"After the split of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, South Ossetia formalized its sovereignty in conformity with international law," the statement says.
The Georgian-South Ossetian conflict peaked in August 2008 when Georgia unleashed military aggression against South Ossetia, accompanied by atrocities and violence against civilians, the ministry said.
Russia's decision to recognize the independence of South Ossetia was the only right move that guaranteed South Ossetians safety, the statement says.
It points out that the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in South Ossetia under bilateral accords are not "occupants" as U.S. senators try to portray them but guarantors of peaceful life.
The Senate's resolution looks more like a PR action and a show of U.S. support of Georgia, but it will hardly promote peace and stability in the region, the statement says.
On July 29, 2011, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution calling for respect to Georgia's territorial integrity and condemning Russia for allegedly violating it.