Ossetians claim Russians are not involved in installation of signposts along so-called administrative boundary

The de-facto South-Ossetian government claims that the newly installed demarcation signposts along the administrative boundary line with Georgia controlled territory was the responsibility of Ossetians only and Russian forces have not been involved in this process.

Murat Jioev, the de-facto Ossetian President’s representative on post-conflict related issues, told local media sources that the border guards had installed demarcation signposts only on South Ossetia’s territory, at least 50 meters from the border and as a reply as Jioev said the Georgian government launched anti-Russian hysteria, while Russians have not been involved at all.

The spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini released an official statement on July 15 and said “The installation of new demarcation signposts along the administrative boundary line of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has led to tension in the area, with potentially negative effects on the local population, their livelihood and freedom of movement.”

According to Mogerini, Georgia has to do its best to avoid new provocations and actions should be taken in this direction urgently.

“The EU and its monitoring mission (EUMM) are closely following the situation. We call for restraint and for the use of existing mechanisms such as the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) to defuse tensions. ”The EU reaffirms its full support for Georgia's territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,” the EU official said.

The recent activities of the Russian occupation forces had a recall from the U.S state department as well.

Speaking at daily press conference on July 13, the State spokesperson, John Kirby was asked to voice the U.S official position about Georgian break-away regions. Kirby said Russia has to fulfil all of its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions.

“These regions are integral parts of Georgia. We reaffirm our strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. We once again urge Russia to fulfil all of its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions, to reverse its recognition of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, and to provide free access for humanitarian assistance to these regions,” Kirby stated.