‘Recognition of South Ossetia irrevocable’

Russia: Russian President Dmitri Medvedev considered irrevocable on Wednesday the Russian decision a year ago to recognize the independence of the autonomous republic of South Ossetia, located in Georgian territory.

“Such a recognition is legitimate from the international point of view and totally fair,” Medvedev stated when concluding his two-day visit to Mongolia, where he signed important economic agreements with that Asian nation.

A year later, the position of Russia would have been the same, the Russian Head of State said, as quoted by television channels in the capital.

“Under the conditions prevailing in 2008, in the wake of the Georgian aggression against the autonomous region, we could not take any other decision than defending the people of South Ossetia,” he said. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, when commenting the case of Kosovo, the independence of which was recognized by several European countries here, before the rejection of Moscow and Belgrade, stated that some nations do not use their sovereignty in the best way.

“Many countries are under the subordination of a superpower like the US and they therefore serve its political will,” he underlined.

Putin denied here in a press conference that Russia at some point pressed for or called to recognize the independence of South Ossetia.

“The Nicaraguan decision of joining the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia was for us something totally unexpected, of which I learned by press reports,” he admitted.

Regarding Belarus, the Russian Prime Minister estimated that the decision on the recognition of the autonomous region is up to that neighboring country.

In the wake of the Georgian invasion against South Ossetia, in the dawn of August 8, 2008, Russia started an operation of pacification and then recognized the proclamation of the sovereignty of that Caucasian region.

Moscow, Prensa Latina