TSKHINVAL. July 29 (Interfax) - The State Security Committee (KGB) of South Ossetia on Wednesday reported an attempt by Georgia to illegally cross the republic's border.
South Ossetia's KGB made this statement the day before a July 30 meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), which representatives of South Ossetia and Georgia intend to hold after a pause of almost one year.
The aforementioned incident occurred last Saturday, the KGB said.
"Border Service officers recorded an attempt by a reconnaissance group of one of Georgia's security services to cross into the territory of South Ossetia in the vicinity of the locality of Ziuuat in the Znaur district at 4:30 p.m. on July 25," it said.
"The information available indicates that six unknown persons wearing Georgian police uniforms arrived in cars at the state border from the direction of the Georgian populated locality of Takhtisdziri of the Kareli municipality. They came close to South Ossetia's border information signs installed 100 meters inside South Ossetian territory and began monitoring South Ossetia's border area, including using a quadcopter," the KGB said in a statement shared with Interfax.
"Only after South Ossetian border guards began filming them, the officers of the Georgian Interior Ministry returned to their cars and drove away in the direction of Takhtisdziri," the statement said.
Such actions on the part of Georgia pose a real threat, as they could prompt direct clashes, possibly leading to an escalation of the conflict, it said.
"What particularly puzzles us is the position taken by the European Union's international observers, who fail not only to control the activities of units of the Tbilisi regime's security services deployed along the state border between South Ossetia and Georgia, but effectively turn a blind eye to their provocative and destructive actions," the statement said.
"In this context, bearing in mind the tragic experience of the state terrorism policy pursued by Georgia against South Ossetia in 2004-2008, the circumstances of the 'five-day war' in August 2008, and Georgia's refusal to sign a treaty barring the use of force or threats to use it, the KGB of South Ossetia places full responsibility for the increase of tensions in the border area on the Tbilisi regime," it said.