TSKHINVALI. March 18 (Interfax) - The new Georgian administration has the same position on South Ossetia and Abkhazia, South Ossetian Presidential Representative for Post-Conflict Settlement Murat Jioyev told Interfax on Friday.
"They inherited aggressive rhetoric and insults from (incumbent Georgian President Mikheil) Saakashvili and even from (former Georgian President Zviad) Gamsakhurdia (1991-1992)," he said implying the Georgian parliament resolution "On Georgian Foreign Policy Vectors" with regard to Georgia-South Ossetia relations.
Georgian authorities keep pretending there are no such states as South Ossetia and Abkhazia and using the terms "territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders and de-occupation."
South Ossetia was formed on the same international legal principles as Georgia, Jioyev noted.
He said Tskhinvali was skeptical about the resolution preamble, which confirmed the Georgian commitment not to use force. The Georgian president undertook the obligation in his speech at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg.
"Life has proven that Georgian authorities easily undertake commitments and easily break them. A textbook example is the statement Saakashvili made on Georgian television on the night of August 7, 2008. He assured everyone he would not use military force against South Ossetians. He was true to his word for several hours only. And we can remember plenty of such examples," he said.
A legally binding agreement with Georgia based on international guarantees that force will not be used could become a security pledge, Jioyev said. He added that the Geneva consultations were bound to draft the accord and to provide security of South Ossetia.
"The Geneva process is not a dialogue between Georgia and Russia, no matter what Georgian parliamentarians may think. This is a multilateral format in which South Ossetia and Abkhazia are equal to other parties. The next round of the Geneva consultations and time will show how much Georgian authorities are prepared to provide regional security and neighborliness," he said.